Yesterday (Sunday) was our first full free day to explore London. We had looked up the weather the night before and decided that we should take the leap and book a trip to the London Eye. And let me tell you, we were THE luckiest people in the world for deciding to go yesterday. The skies were so clear, the sun was out, and it was absolutely beautiful. I couldn't have asked for a better day or a better way to start off all of our London adventures. After the Eye, we explored the South Bank of London, which is a long paved area along the River Thames. There were street performers, musicians, ice cream trucks, and a beautiful park with great views of the Eye. It reminded me a lot of New York City and the parks there. Being on the South Bank was the first time since arriving in London that I have actually felt like I am in a different country. Most likely because of all of the other tourists and foreigners surrounding me in this area. We also heard our first Americans today! Kinda weird but nice to know we weren't the only ones here.
We walked a ways down the South Bank and found ourselves at a quaint little outdoor restaurant right underneath a bridge. It was a little chilly outside, but that didn't stop us from taking advantage of the seats outdoors. Most of the people with us ordered the yucky Fish and Chips, but we stuck with more familiar foods like chicken sandwiches and turkey clubs. Their french fried (aka chips) were absolutely delicious though! After lunch, we headed further down the South Bank to the Tate Modern art museum. I'll be honest, the museum was extremely boring so thank goodness it was free. But hey, at least we can say we went to the Tate, right?
By now, the skies were gray and it was no longer the beautiful weather from when we were on the Eye. But, we decided to take a chance and walk across the Millennium Bridge (the pedestrian bridge seen in the last Harry Potter film) and walk back to the North side of London, where we live. We then took the Tube (alone, mind you) and found our way to Regent Street, which is similar to 5th avenue. Here, there was a world's street fair going on, so although it was raining, we ventured down the street peeking into various tents and hearing various music being played. I found it ironic that they had a tent with a statue of liberty in it and fake New York Taxis parked outside for people to take pictures with. After getting lost, we finally found our way home and collapsed on our beds in relief. I'd say it was a pretty productive day!
Today we returned to class, and our first full week of classes. Todays classes weren't too terrible, and our afternoon session was a discussion with a cute little old man who is famous for his "One Man Show". His name was Brian D. Barnes. After class, we had only about an hour until we headed over to Leicester Square and the London Coliseum to see "Wozzeck", an English opera, which was luckily all sung in English! To describe it in the easiest way possible, even our professor fell asleep AND it ended in the two main characters sitting at the kitchen table with slit throats and blood gushing everywhere. Yep. So that happened. After the opera ended, Maggie and I trekked to M&Ms world because God knows we couldn't make it through this trip without our favorite chocolate. We then met everyone at a pub around the corner from our apartment for a round of beers. And now, here I am sitting in bed and watching some cheesy British show on the telly. Another full day of class awaits tomorrow so...goodnight!!
I really like the Violins/Violence sign!
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