Hiya,
So, since I've managed to catch up to today and upload all my pictures, I should go ahead and catch my blog up too (ulterior motive: I'm stalling to build up my anticipation for the oh-so-dramatic conclusion to my current smutty novel). Let me tell you, I am in a fabulous mood (and not just because I know that everything will be alright in the end for Elizabeth and Patrick of Highland Outlaw). I'm having a great time on this trip, everything has gone really smoothly, and (though I wouldn't have put this high on my priority list prior to last Friday) I have conditioned my hair. Let me explain. Since I didn't check any baggage, I wasn't able to bring much by way of shampoo and conditioner on this trip. I figured that I would buy some in Paris. Well, the grocery store near the hostel only had shampoo, and consequentially, I had a really hard time feeling like I had really gotten all the grime associated with Paris (not the cleanest city I've ever visited) off of me. No more. I'm now a very happy camper.
Both being kinda pooped after the EuroStar trip in from Paris (and Becky having developed a bit of a cold), Becky and I slept in until around 9:30 this morning. We then had breakfast at the hostel (which is super adorable, and may have changed my mind back on the whole booking hostels in the future idea) and hit the road to the Westminister area. We did kind of a slow drive-by of several of the attractions in that area, including Westminister Abbey, the London Eye (most expensive ferris wheel ever ~$30 for one go around), and Big Ben.
What we ultimately decided to do was take a Thames cruise to the Tower of London. Since we knew exactly where this one picked up, it was much more successful than the Paris version (check plus for London). The cruise was really very nice, and we got to see a lot of buildings with historical significance from the riverfront (a replica of the Globe Theater, St. Paul's Cathedral, the London Bridge, and Cleopatra's Needle, to name a few). Half an hour later, we got off at the Tower of London.
The Tower of London is really more of a complex, so we walked around the grounds taking pictures for a while. We stopped for lunch in one of the adjacent restaurants, which was also very nice. I tried rabbit for the first time, which I generally liked, but the medallions were stuffed with the rabbit's other internal organs, and a few of them had somewhat unfortunate textures. After lunch, we got back on the tour boat and headed back to Westminister, where we promptly hopped on the Tube. Our plan for tomorrow was to go see a show on the West End, so we went to see what was available. As it turns out, War Horse is sold out, and the Lion King is nowhere near our price range, so we settled on tickets to Shrek: The Musical! I don't really know what to expect, but I'm excited nonetheless.
After a relatively full afternoon, we headed outside the city to meet up with Kerry, who is from Northern Ireland and studied at R-MC for the year after I left (Becky's senior year). We met up with her around six and went for what was billed as Cantonese, but I guess was more of a pan-Asian cuisine. I had a great time hanging out with Kerry and Becky - Kerry's very funny, and she just moved to the UK to teach fourth graders. She has 35 students in her class, 25 of whom have first languages other than English (with some who speak absolutely none), and despite the fact that that seems to me to be a pretty daunting task to undertake, she was incredibly positive and excited about it. It was a great way to spend the evening.
Until tomorrow!
Catherine
So, since I've managed to catch up to today and upload all my pictures, I should go ahead and catch my blog up too (ulterior motive: I'm stalling to build up my anticipation for the oh-so-dramatic conclusion to my current smutty novel). Let me tell you, I am in a fabulous mood (and not just because I know that everything will be alright in the end for Elizabeth and Patrick of Highland Outlaw). I'm having a great time on this trip, everything has gone really smoothly, and (though I wouldn't have put this high on my priority list prior to last Friday) I have conditioned my hair. Let me explain. Since I didn't check any baggage, I wasn't able to bring much by way of shampoo and conditioner on this trip. I figured that I would buy some in Paris. Well, the grocery store near the hostel only had shampoo, and consequentially, I had a really hard time feeling like I had really gotten all the grime associated with Paris (not the cleanest city I've ever visited) off of me. No more. I'm now a very happy camper.
Both being kinda pooped after the EuroStar trip in from Paris (and Becky having developed a bit of a cold), Becky and I slept in until around 9:30 this morning. We then had breakfast at the hostel (which is super adorable, and may have changed my mind back on the whole booking hostels in the future idea) and hit the road to the Westminister area. We did kind of a slow drive-by of several of the attractions in that area, including Westminister Abbey, the London Eye (most expensive ferris wheel ever ~$30 for one go around), and Big Ben.
What we ultimately decided to do was take a Thames cruise to the Tower of London. Since we knew exactly where this one picked up, it was much more successful than the Paris version (check plus for London). The cruise was really very nice, and we got to see a lot of buildings with historical significance from the riverfront (a replica of the Globe Theater, St. Paul's Cathedral, the London Bridge, and Cleopatra's Needle, to name a few). Half an hour later, we got off at the Tower of London.
The Tower of London is really more of a complex, so we walked around the grounds taking pictures for a while. We stopped for lunch in one of the adjacent restaurants, which was also very nice. I tried rabbit for the first time, which I generally liked, but the medallions were stuffed with the rabbit's other internal organs, and a few of them had somewhat unfortunate textures. After lunch, we got back on the tour boat and headed back to Westminister, where we promptly hopped on the Tube. Our plan for tomorrow was to go see a show on the West End, so we went to see what was available. As it turns out, War Horse is sold out, and the Lion King is nowhere near our price range, so we settled on tickets to Shrek: The Musical! I don't really know what to expect, but I'm excited nonetheless.
After a relatively full afternoon, we headed outside the city to meet up with Kerry, who is from Northern Ireland and studied at R-MC for the year after I left (Becky's senior year). We met up with her around six and went for what was billed as Cantonese, but I guess was more of a pan-Asian cuisine. I had a great time hanging out with Kerry and Becky - Kerry's very funny, and she just moved to the UK to teach fourth graders. She has 35 students in her class, 25 of whom have first languages other than English (with some who speak absolutely none), and despite the fact that that seems to me to be a pretty daunting task to undertake, she was incredibly positive and excited about it. It was a great way to spend the evening.
Until tomorrow!
Catherine
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