Sunday, February 3, 2013

Hello, it's Sunday! My first week in review :)

Good morning everyone,
 Sorry I haven't posted as much as I would like to but to sum up my first week I'll just give a few of the highlights.

Sunday-
 It was sad/hard to say goodbye to Mom but it was fun to meet my new house mates. We went on an adventure to the grocery store, and later had a reception with our landlord and professors.
(Not pictured- Sam, Jerry, Leah and Rebecca)
My first night there was hard to adjust to, as all first nights are. Sleeping in a new bed, and hearing the sounds of the city in a new place.... speaking of, here are some pictures of my new place! 


Monday-
 We ventured out to our Classroom, which sadly isn't here in Earls Court. Got to take the tube there with my roommates Sam and Kristyn...


Once we were at the classroom we sat through some long intro talks from our professors Mark and Andrew who are both very nice. Then we took a long walk from London Bridge to Waterloo Bridge (2 miles) in the rain and cold but it was pretty beautiful! from London Bridge to Waterloo Bridge (2 miles) in the rain and cold but it was pretty beautiful! 
On London Bridge, behind me is Tower Bridge

 I had subway for dinner that night, (I know I know, how American can I be) but it was delicious so.... yeah!

Tuesday-
Tower of London

On tuesday morning I'm pretty sure I just relaxed, which was nice. I took the tube BY MYSELF!!! to where we were meeting Andrew (my Architecture professor) at Tower Hill. Because I had gotten there so early I explored the area, Trinity Square and the view of the Tower of London. 
Trinity Square
My ACM Group looking at the ancient wall built by the Romans.

After that we walked to the Museum of London where we learned more about the Roman occupation (and founding) of "Londonium". We also learned about London during the Middle Ages, the Great Fire (which had a pretty funny exhibit) and the Black Death. It was interesting.
That night I ate at this restaurant in Earls Court called Byron- Proper Burgers. I loved my Proper Burger.






Wednesday-
On Wednesday I went to Piccadilly Circus and walked around and explored before seeing Shakespeare's Twelfth Night with the group. 




The play was fantastic, even though our seats were not very great. We were in the highest row, almost looking straight down on the actors. Stephan Fry played the part of Malvolio- he is a very famous british actor but I know him best as the narrator of the Harry Potter Audio Books, that I listened to over and over again as a kid (who am I kidding, I still listen to them all the time) It was great! Also, it was a true shakespearian performance because all of the female parts were played by men.


That night Kristyn and I went to Wagamama and had some weird Asian food, mine was actually pretty good. Chicken Rice bowl thingy ------->





  Thursday- (Are you still with me?)
Thursday we spent most of the day in class with Mark talking about Twelfth Night and Theater in general. Then we walked over to his apartment, and to the British Library where we glanced at Jane Austen's writing desk, Da Vinci's journal pages, the first ever manuscript of Beowulf... stuff like that ;) , and had wine and cheese with his wife Carol. It was pretty delightful. On our way back some of us girls stopped at Kings Cross Station to live out a childhood dream or two.
Friday-
 Friday I spent the day in Hampstead (north of Earls Court by about 4 miles). You may know the Hampstead Heath from movies like Notting Hill (when Julia is filming that victorian movie in the field).  Anyway that day I spent on my own, wondering in and out of shops, drinking tea and eating delicious French food.... 




That night we saw an amazing new show called Di and Viv and Rose at the Hampstead Theatre- 
it was the story of three girls the met at University, all of them being very different and finding themselves and growing together. It was powerful.
Saturday-
Went to Portobello Market which was crazy and fun! Here are some pictures:






Sunday-
Well so far today I woke up, had a piece of Nutella toast and wrote this very long blog post. I hope I won't let them pile up on me like this again but I hope you've enjoyed a taste of my week. Tonight I am going to see my FAVORITE author in the whole world, John Green, at Cadogan Hall. He is promoting his latest book, The Fault In Our Stars. I can't wait!

Cheers,
 Meg



Sunday, January 27, 2013

The Eye, The Abbey, Ben and Buckingham

Yesterday was also very exciting- I'll write more about it later.
Today is the day I move in and say goodbye to mom, Im very nervous today but trying to stay positive.

- Meg



















Friday, January 25, 2013

Eurostar on Friday Morning

Wow! What an adventurous day!
Starting at 6:30am I was fully prepared (somewhat..) for today's trip to London when my Downton Abbey ringtone woke me. Mom and I had a somewhat hectic time leaving Paris with delays at the Eurostar and big crowds but we actually ended up getting on an earlier train!
The train ride was lovely, the landscape looked a lot like Wisconsin actually. We made it safely here, had an excellent lunch at a "take away" place, got to make the adventurous walk down to Earls Court and we are now pretty bushed. I also finished reading "Everyday" by David Levithan which I enjoyed.

Cheers from London!
- Meg









Thursday, January 24, 2013

Louvre and d'Orsay on Thursday

Today was another unforgettable day in Paris with my mom. We have so much fun together, I am so lucky!
After a late bite to eat in a café we walked to the louvre. Honestly the experience was so amazing I don't even know what to say right now. I will say that when I saw the Mona Lisa I cried and I'm still not fully sure why that is.
Afterward we went to the Musée d'Orsay which was fantastic. If it hasn't been for Mom we might have missed it. There we saw a huge collection of works by Van Gogh, Monet, Pissaro, Degas, Renoir, and Manet. It was incredible! We had a delicious lunch in their fancy restaurant where the cute waiter was very charming. After we collected our post cards we came back to the hotel, packed our bags, went and had delicious soup and chicken and beef stew and seriously the best mashed potatoes of my life. We also walked down and saw the Eiffel Tower all lit up at night.
Paris has been a treasure trove of memories that I will cherish. Mom and I have had such a whirlwind adventure being here and it brings a smile to my face! Tomorrow we will be in London (I can't believe it, can you?)
Merci Paris,
Meg ( 24/1/13 9:30pm)