[hidden] pubs of london tour.

thursday night was our hidden pubs of london tour. we had two brits show us the lesser-known pubs in london and to quote the event description: "....to gnarled, brooding back alleys, secluded courtyards and tortuous zig-zags." (how's that for a description, mom?!) our tour guides were quite jolly and fun to listen to. they gave us a little background about what pubs mean to the English. something along the lines of: "pubs are in our DNA".

also, we learned that "pub" is short for "public house".

even though it was pouring rain through some of it, is was definitely worth it. we went to three pubs: the coach & horses; the king's head; and porterhouse. it's such a different kind of culture than i'm used to - but i really liked learning more about it.

we were in the mayfield section of central london, which is one of the fanciest and most wealthy. along the way, we passed madonna & guy ritchie's pub, the punch bowl. apparently she's not really involved in it anymore since they got divorced....still cool though.

my ticket!

the coach & horses (it says established 1744...CRAZY)

the king's head

 the inside -- downstairs

 me, sarah, & carli

porterhouse (my favorite one!)

memorable moments of the night:

• getting hit on by an overly-friendly fellow in a wheelchair who REFUSED to believe i wasn't italian.
• wearing my backpack (from school) into every pub hahaha
• going to mcdonalds at midnight......in hindsight, maybe not the best idea...
• getting to talk to some locals 
• there was apparently a dead mouse on the floor by the time we left porterhouse....sick.

tomorrow, we go to STONEHENGE & BATH. i am SO SO SO excited!!! expect lots of pictures!!!!

hope your weekend is as lovely as mine will be :)

love, C

buckingham palace, hyde park, & other adventures

 buckingham palace...where the queen lives!

 you can't really see it, but there was a marching bands of soldiers

 me & sarah!

ballin at buckingham palace....NBD.

 hyde park

in front of the national gallery & statues

st. james park - you can see the london eye!

um. what.

i LOVE fall.

across from the hammersmith apollo theatre.

[london escapades]

the days here have been LONG and my feet are severely feeling the repercussions. it takes an hour (ish) to get to school....riding the tube is convienent, but you just have to factor time in wherever you go.

for instance; to get to campus, i have to 1) walk 10-15 minutes down holloway road to the station; 2) get on the picadilly line; 3) get off at king's cross station; 4) get on the circle line and get off at baker street; 5) then walk 10 minutes to campus. it's crazy how long it can take to get from point A to point B just in the same city....i'm beginning to have a lot more respect for people who commute. homesickness is getting better overall -- although i still have moments. i'm beginning to wonder if facebook/instagram/skype is a double-edged sword. it's great to be connected electronically and to keep in contact, but at the same time, i feel like i'm missing out on tons of things. i just don't want people to forget about me! haha. i just have to remember that i'm in LONDON -- and there is never a day here that is wasted.

here are some snapshots of the past few days....including the back-to-school "refreshers" party (new students are called "freshers" here...) portobello market (HUUUUGE vintage market w/ food) a trip to the Victoria & Albert museum (i could literally spend DAYS in there.) two of my friends, kaylee & carli are taking a Fashion Styling class and their teacher is insanely cool and takes them to different mini-field trips to fashion-related places all over london. anyone is welcome to join -- so my other friend sarah & i have already tagged along on the trips. friday was the trip to portobello market, and saturday was to the victoria & albert museum, which is apparently comparable to the MET. i will definitely go there again before i leave. we saw a ton of historical fashion -- from the 1800s to present. we also saw FABULOUS jewelry -- of which we weren't allowed to take pictures. but i'll just tell you. everything from rings to brooches to crowns to SWORDS...all decked out in what i'm sure what hundreds if not MILLIONS of dollars of diamonds, emeralds, rubies, and sapphires. after that, we went took the tube back home and stopped at both morrison's and waitrose (grocery stores) to pick up ingredients for dinner. EVERYONE grocery shops on saturday nights/sunday mornings here. most stores close at 5pm on sunday which is such a foreign concept to me -- you really have to plan ahead. we were all so tired after dinner that we just watched a movie and laid low. those can be some of the best nights though -- just relaxing and talking. what can i say...i'm easily entertained!

without further ado....

 trying new lipstick....

 maybe carli & i shouldn't go out in public....

the finished product....ready for the party.

 portobello market....love the "fruit and veg".... its slang round here

saturday morning....the sun was shining!! it was pretty nice today :)

front of the victoria & albert museum

 the inside sculpture.

 walking up to it....i can't get over the architecture here!

rotating holograms on the ceiling....

 christian dior's new look

an example of an 1860s ensemble....can you see why they invented french doors now?

more of dior -- so glam!

stained glass with the sun shining through

we had a mexican feast....corn tortillas, ground beef, cheese, black beans, homemade guacamole.....apparently this is what they call cilantro here. we asked them if they had cilantro, and the guy said "i don't know what that is" hahaha

i'm not sure i've adjusted to the 8-hour difference yet, seeing as i'm writing this at 1:20am. but maybe it's just cause i'm a night owl....who knows. the jury is still out on that one. 

covent gardens. and a torrential downpour.

today, kaylee & i didn't have class....so we decided to go on an adventure. first on our list was Selby's. which is an upscale department store. i needed another towel desperately, and she needed a washcloth. after much search and deliberation, i found a really cute one for 8 pounds. putting off laundry as long as possible ;) they have a topshop section in that store....which could be dangerous. all the clothes in there are SO FREAKIN CUTE! we also noticed they had already started their christmas decorating....i mean, i realize it's october, and christmas will be here faster than we know it, but really?? next, we went to the area of covent gardens to see the vintage lingerie exhibit at the london film museum. it was sooo cool! it was basically the evolution of lingerie from the 1890s to now. did i mention all the museums here are FREE?! its ridiculous. i wanna go to every one of them! after that, we went back to campus to see if anyone was around...when we didn't find anyone, we decided to go shopping. luckily (or unfortunately) for me, there is a forever 21 AND H&M right next to each other on oxford street. i bought two pairs of knee socks for 2 pounds....originally 10 pounds. STEALS 'n DEALS ladies & gents! 

it was about 6:30pm by this time, and we were tired and hungry, so we decided to make the trek home. 2 and a half hours later....we made it! first, we got on the wrong train....twice. then our actual stop (holloway road) was skipped over in order for everyone to get to the arsenal futbol game. i was wondering why everyone was was wearing red & white scarves. it was insane....there were SO many people....soccer (...i mean futbol...) is crazy here. so.....we got off at the arsenal stadium stop and almost got trampled by all of the arsenal fans. we couldn't find another tube/bus station, so we asked a policeman to point us in the right direction. either we didn't follow his directions correctly, or he had no idea what he was talking about. as we were walking through some random (but very adorable) neighborhood, a torrential downpour began. there we were: lost, hungry, and SOAKED. it was awful. we finally found a bus stop and got on it...and 20 minutes later we made it back home. i looked like a drowned rat....no. drowned rat would be a compliment. i was naive and thought "it's not going to rain today!"....i was sorely mistaken! c'est la vie. i think i've finally warmed up though! 

 christmas.....on october 3rd?? 

 this picture perfectly captures my LOATHING for birds....

 cheesin.

 kaylee is such a good photog.

 royal opera house! i look so tiny.

 it says 'charles dickens coffee house'....got a layered iced latte! the barista (o?) didn't know a lick of english.

 the lyceum theatre

vintage lingerie exhibit at the london film museum!

it's hard to believe i've only been here for a week! it seems like much longer in some respects, and much short in other ways....it'll be interesting to see how the next 10 weeks go. keep me updated on all of your lives -- i LOVE hearing from you. 

until next time, C

pictures, as promised

first day of class.....DONE! i even took the tube back by myself! with a cross over. IT'S A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE!!!!!!! 
here are my favorite pictures of london town thus far.....please feel free to live vicariously through me ;)

 part of st. paul's cathedral (i think?) this looks EXACTLY like olympia's capital building. seriously....google it.

 the front!

 shakespeare's globe!

 a better view....they take the top off for summer performances

 the river thames.

 loveLOVElove this shot of the tower bridge.

 :)

 the london eye.

 queen elizabeth tower.....aka big ben.

 i die.

 part of parliament.

 paddington park (where we walk through to get to campus)

 no idea what this is, but i LOVE it.

 westminster abbey.....the building is built to "reach the heavens"

 these poor guards and horses have to sit here. all day. but it makes for a good photo op....

 the national gallery.

 a crown bush! in honor of the diamond jubilee.

 "how you doin??"

 i like to call this "classic graduating senior shot"

 "ello??"

 you're a wizard, harry! platform 9 and 3/4.

 camden, home of the 90s. and giant shoes on buildings.

 not sure what this is....

 more of camden.......need i say more?

 my creeper shot from the inside of westminster abbey....just wish the scaffolding wasn't there...

 we went back the next day :)

 tour group! with parliament in the back

 new friends! sarah, kaylee, & me

 finally, a good one!

my first ride on the tube! thanks to kat for this picture, and helping me navigate that sucker....