DAY ONE:After a quick nap and a shower, Emily Butler, Brooke Cheesman and I headed for the town. We walked about 6 miles today - one of the girls has a pedometer :)
We saw the
Tower Castle, Tower
Bridge,
London Bridge,
St Pauls Catherdral,
Notting Hill (even some cute secluded gardens) and we went the the YSA FHE in
Kensington at the Hyde. We were BUSY!
I told Emily while we were walking that I wouldn't be surprised if I bumped into someone I knew as there as so many S. Africans in England, and then "waar wragties" I see
StJohn Holloway (from Zim who served in Capw Town) ironically we were on exactly the same tube for like 2 minutes before they were moving on to Africa- what are the chances?
Oh and there is a shop here called Mark's and John's - its EXACTLY like
Woolworths Food. If I hadn't seen the name I would have sworn it was good old Woolies.
While things are expensive here, the food is good and the sizes fair.
I got a great starter (bruscetta) for supper for £4.00 and it was delicious and sufficient.
Oh and the transportation system is wonderful. You have so much freedom even without a car! You just buy a pass and slide it into the machines when you enter and exit, and voila! It is fast, efficient and reliable.
I'M IN LONDON!!!Well my journey to Huston, Texas was a quicky: a 2 and a half hour flight and a 3 hour layover,
just enough time to grab lunch, call the family and begin reading - The DA VINCI CODE:
P.S. it is really exciting!!! :)
Anyway, in some kind of miracle I had all three seats to myself on the Huston-London flight! So, I could lie die down and stretch my legs. It was wonderful and all for the price of an economy ticket! I am used to flying Delta and SAA, but I was impressed by Continentla, but South African Airwats ironically has the best entertainment system I have seen. Personal screens with the option of MANY movies and shows and you can watche them WHENEVER you want.
I arrived in Gatwick at 6.30AM (11PM SLC time)
It is overcast in London today, but just before we landed I got a glimpes of this beautiful county. It is so green and definitly different, and I love that they also drive on the left hand side!
I was able to clear customs and get my bags with no problems :) and then I made my way to Victoria Station (I got the ticket and a full day tube pass for only £10 on
Southern.!The Gatwick Express is £14 and I would have had to still get a £5 day pass later, so was glad to have saved a few pounds). At Victora Station I got a special student travelling card that I get 30% of all train fares for a year for only £20. This will defintly pay itself off with the long distance rides I'll be doing.
I took a couple snap shots in the street of the black cads and the big red busses, and then began dragging my bads again up and downstairs to get to my place of residence for the evening UPTON PARK. I am staying with a lovely little old lady, and using the internet cafe across the street to type this.
I ca already see that even though I tried to pack as light as possible, carrying bags around like I did today on the trains is not an easy task. It seemed easy enough in my mind, but reality is always a wake up call, so I am glad to have a place to rest for the day.
Tomorrow, I am off to Kew. I'll met up with my friend Kellie and a few others on this trip and then we will do a little sightseeing. For the rest of the week we will be doing research in the National Archives of England. Then the 10 of us and our professor are off to Lancashire/Preston/Liverpool for a week of history!!!
I am excited for this oppertunity and can't wait to experience all tha this place has to offer.
