Monday 30 June 2008

Finally Settling In!

Hey all! Finally settled in London. The internet was hard to configure but finally it works so I can post pictures soon and let you all see what I'm doing!
On Saturday we went as a group to London to take a bus tour. We saw all the big sites, including the Tower of London, the Bank of England, Big Ben, Tower Bridge, London Bridge Lambeth Bridge, The Monument for the Fire of London (in 1666). We got out to take pictures of the Tower of London which is actually lots of towers and enclosed spaces. Definitely going to go back and take the tour so I can see the Crown Jewels! After our group went to dinner and to some pubs - 3, in fact. We went to the Sherlock Holmes, the Princess of Wales, and the Coal Hole Pubs which were exciting because we met some locals etc. On Sunday we went on a walking tour of Hampstead Heath. We saw Dame Judi Dench's House (which apparently has caught on fire several times) as well as the homes of Boy George, Robert Louis Stevenson, Mary Stopes, John Galsworthy, and Lord Admiral Nelson's lover, and the homes of a few painters I can't remember. Impressionists, I think!
We also saw the house where they filmed Mary Poppins, where the dad shoots cannons off of the top. The man who lived there actually did build a quarter deck and installed two cannons because he thought Britain might get attacked and he frequently practiced shooting them, much to the dismay of his neighbors I'm sure.
Camden was quite different...very eclectic selection of stores, mostly Goth I think. There was a fire a few months ago (arson) so some stores weren't open and there was a really junky area. We were there for 5 hours so we did get a little tired and didn't actually do much shopping. We sat at an organic cafe next to the Regent's Canal and drank coffee and chatted which was fun.
Last night we went to the tavern near the school because there was a big football (soccer) game called the Euro Cup which only happens every few years. Germany was playing Spain, and Spain won, 1-nil. The Brits were rooting for Spain because they hate Germany apparently, so we all rooted for Spain too!
Class starts tomorrow (Politics of Europe) 3 hours a day, 3 days a week. This weekend there are fireworks on the 4th incidentally and we are going to Stonehenge and Bath on Sunday. Hope all is well with all of you!!
Cheers!
Katharine

4 comments:

Elizabeth said...

YAY! First poster!

Peter watched the Euro Cup too.

Do you have an accent yet?

McAwesome said...

Yes, but I can't really say its because of London. My British accent was developed and perfected years ago. Cheers, mate.

Anonymous said...

Glad you are there safely and settlin' in...

Make sure you get to the London Eye... :)

Big hug!
Leanne

Unknown said...

Hiii Kat! Sounds like everything is going well and is super exciting. I would have loved to see Judi Dench's house and the house from Mary Poppins. Cool!

Stonehenge is AMAZING...enjoy. Happy (early) 4th of July!