London is Cool

That last post was a little depressing, but needless to say London has already captured part of my heart. Once the shock of the move wore off I really got to see how amazing being in a big city like this is!

First of all, I need to talk about how AMAZING it is to just be able to go on the subway anywhere in the city! My friend Mevy and I have done a bit of exploring different parts of the city (maybe Regent and Oxford streets, London's big shopping area, a little too much) and we've been able to check a few things off of our to do lists.

We've been able to find a hair dryer and hair straightener, which was pretty high on our lists. No more wet hair buns! We've found a couple of different places to buy groceries that are fairly close and have pretty good deals (M&S and Argos being my favorites).  We've pretty much found our favorite new place for breakfast and lunch, which is a cafe right across the street that has awesome sandwiches, fish and chips, and burgers.

We've tried to stay as un-touristy as possible - even we are starting to spot the tourists and locals based on their actions and nature - but we were able to check out Buckingham Palace yesterday! Didn't see any royals, but I'm sure Prince Harry will be calling me once he gets back from Afghanistan.

Saturday evening Liz, some of Liz's friends from her study abroad group, Mevy, and I went to a pub close to the apartments that serves traditional English food and Thai food. Though I wasn't hungry I hear it was excellent, so I can't wait to go back! Sunday was our big IKEA and Tesco adventure, which used up all of the money I had put on my Oyster Card (which was supposed to last me through the week until I get my monthly student card). According to one of our student peer guides, Ibsa, we went to London's "ghetto," so since we made it out just fine I feel pretty confident in our problem solving abilities!

Monday we had our orientation for Westminster and got some information about classes, the UK education system, and things that we should look out for and get involved in. After that Mevy and I walked around the Regent street area and found our new favorite coffee place (that's not Starbucks) called Joe and the Juice! We sat on the second floor and got such a cool chance to people watch. The place had couches and den chairs to sit in instead of normal restaurant chairs.

Tuesday we did a bit more exploring and finally got our UK phones. It's been a challenge getting used to using a phone that's not an iPhone, but I'm getting used to it! I never knew how easy it is to not keep up with other technologies when you get swept up by Macs and iPhones and Apple. We also had a welcome dinner hosted by CIS at the Old Bank of England on Fleet street where I had my first meat pie (and it was sooooo good). I didn't realize until later that Fleet street is supposedly where Sweeney Todd (as in, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street) supposedly worked and killed his victims!

Tomorrow I have the boat party hosted by CIS that will go around the city in the evening. I think it'll be fun, but I have to make sure to bundle up since it'll be after dark. It's been getting dark around 4:30 lately, but it hasn't been terribly cold until today. This weekend or early next week we're expecting a bit of snow! The highs will be in the upper 30s, so I'll have to break out the hats and gloves!

I have a complete bus tour of London on Friday and then classes start on Monday, so cross your fingers I can find my way to my classes - maybe in the snow!