Another Routine Day

Today was also slow as we had class. Really not that interesting. However, at least I was able to upload my images onto facebook. There is something good about having nothing else to do aside from listen to a lecture. I cannot believe that in one week I go home...it has been quite a trip!

Watching the Guard, I meet Aslan and eat Indian Food

So today was quite a bit of fun! We woke up early and ate breakfast before heading for the train to London. It was about an hour to get in and a couple more minutes on the metro before we arrived at Big Ben. That was pretty cool, yet it was not what I had come to expect. As an American I've always envisioned Big Ben as being pretty huge, unique, I must admit it's smaller than I'd originally expected. After Big Ben we headed over to see Westminster Abbey, which was pretty cool, continuing onward to the Changing of the Guard Ceremony at Buckingham Palace. There were a lot of people lined up, yet luckily I was able to stand decently close to the fence behind a lot of midgets..or at least really short people. At first it started out pretty slow, finally becoming real when the stereotypical queens guard - ie the guys in red suits with black hats - came in playing instruments and such to herald their arrival. The queen was in residence that day as evidenced by the royal standard that was flying. I thought that was pretty cool. The ceremony lasted fairly long and afterward it was time for lunch.

Lets just say I had a healthy appetite as we found a place to eat - Pizza Hut- and settled into a nice buffet. Next on the list was Downing Street, home of new prime minister David Cameron. Though we could not get close it was cool to see. After that was Trafalgar Square and that's where I got to climb up onto one of the lions whom I've henceforth nicknamed Aslan. ^_^ That was fun and we were there for around 30minutes before heading off to our final stop of the day, the Bank of England.

The Bank of England was fun and I learned a lot, winning a prize even at the end for opening a safe they had their. We headed back riding the train before going to a restaurant close to our school. I was quite hesitant to eat the food they'd picked as I usually HATE Indian food. But it was not that bad - Yes Aunt Ralene, I ate Indian food and liked it - though I am loathe to admit that. Finally going back to the dorm and collapsing for the evening...what a day!

Leisurely Silence

So today was again another slow day. It comprised of an exam and additional class time. Afterward a walk around the campus was quite nice. Really I can not help to see just how amazing God is. It's beautiful here, albeit somewhat similar to Michigan.

Where the heck are the trashcans?????

So it's a mundane Monday. We have a lot of class today, and then to top it all off, a test tomorrow. Luckily this material is something I've really already covered, and I'm sure that out of the 100 questions, some will answer themselves upon comparison. After class I headed back to our dorm area, Moor Close to study. It was a beautiful day and as has been my custom, I've always grabbed a couple apples from the cafeteria to snack on throughout the day. However with this snacking comes a need to throw them away once complete and thus brings up my question...where are the trashcans? I mean seriously the nearest trashcans are located in the bathrooms, not even one in a public area....Yes I know it's a rant, but still...anyways I was up pretty late, till like 2am before I decided to catch some shut eye. Till Tomorrow!

Down a Lazy River

So today was...lets just say unique. It was not...as thrilling as other days were. In fact, I wish I had not gone. We went to Wales and rather than...really doing much of anything, we simply went down a nasty, muddy, bug infested river...to say I was bored is a supreme understatement. It was miserable and I'm glad that it's over. The bus ride also was long, 3 hours each way!!! Next time I hope that our time is not as wasted.

A Perfect Day, Meeting Old-Yet New Friends

So today was just about awesome. It was a nice day when I woke up and eating breakfast I was not disappointed. Despite the fact that I've heard England is famous for rain, I'd not seen any yet and it was a great day to meet with a couple friends who were coming down to visit. They arrived around one in the afternoon - Rus, Peter, and Janet. After hugs and a bit of a talk we proceeded down the way to a nice Pub. We sat and talked away the afternoon, simply enjoying each others company. It was a great day and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The evening passed by fast and before I knew it they had to leave. While that was sad, I do look forward to future meetings. Afterward the evening passed fast as I began to anticipate a trip to Wales on Sunday.

The Louvre and Saint Chapelle, then off to London!

So today was the day we would get to see the Louvre. I was looking forward to that as I wanted to see the Mona Lisa. We got there and checked in around 10am and were told to meet up around noon to head to lunch. Well lets just say the Louvre is enormous. You can not keep up with it all. I went to the Mona Lisa first and then proceeded to walk around looking at the different era's of original art they had inside. While it was cool to see all of it preserved, I must admit that I did get a tad bit bored - I guess I am not much of an artist. We headed to lunch and afterward though the original group plan was the Arch de Triumph - which I had seen already and was going to skip - we instead had free time due to a couple members of our group being late to meet back at the Louvre and therefore canceling the Arch de Triumph plans for others. I was happy I had gone to see it earlier and felt sorry for those who had not.

I hopped on the metro and headed to Saint Chapelle though my battery died, due to forgetting to charge it after yesterday's events, I was awestruck by the Church itself. While Notre Dame may be more famous, this church outshines it with the intricacy of its glass work. At least...in my opinion it does. Nevertheless, I was happy to have seen both, stopping at a couple shops on the way back to grab souvenirs from Paris.

We all loaded the bus and headed for Gare du Nord, the train station we would depart from to head to England. It was a nice train ride and a surreal experience upon arriving in London to see cars driving on the WRONG side of the road. Several revelations occurred for me at that time. First of all when our bus was traveling in the far right lane, it was not the 'fast lane' instead it was the 'slow lane.' Secondly I wonder...do they call it the left of way for faster cars? As we call it the right of way in the US. Thirdly why on earth would they drive this way...I mean most of the world drives the other way. Anyways we arrived on the campus which was small and headed to our rooms which I must say are more than a bit crowded - we have 6-9 to a room - before checking the internet and going to sleep.