I'm dreaming of a white Christmas!
I really hope it snows tomorrow in London for Christmas! Alas, tomorrow is supposed to be a pleasant day with sunshine. Then again, any time there is sunshine in London you can't complain!
Anywho, last night Kara, Lana and I went to Covent Garden to look at the Christmas lights in the market. The display included hundreds of full colored LED Tubes and three chandeliers, creating differnt colors and patterns. To be honest, it was a bit overrated.
After the lights, we crossed the River Thames to walk through the Christmas market. The coolest item I saw was a wooden tie. It was only £10, but I thought I would wear it once and then toss it so I decided against buying it!
In 21 minutes, my holiday vacation will officially begin! I am meeting friends for a pint here in a bit. Then we are going to St. Paul's for a Christmas Carroling Service. I can't wait, it's going to be beautiful.
Merry Christmas to all!
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Peripatetic
Now that I know the way to walk home from work, I can resume one of my favorite activities in London: getting lost!
This hobby is not for the faint of heart or for people with a really bad sense of direction. After I cross the River Thames over the Waterloo Bridge, I take a different way home everyday. As I walk, I write down the name of the street I'm on and I'll google it later to figure out which way I went home.
It's really fun because I learn a lot about the city. For example, my friend Amber is coming to visit and we are going to see a show. I've heard really good reviews about one in particular, Avenue Q, and on my way home yesterday I ran right into it! So I popped my head in and found out more information about it!
One of my favorite things about being in a city is the fact you can walk anywhere and everywhere. It's quite the healthy habit!
This hobby is not for the faint of heart or for people with a really bad sense of direction. After I cross the River Thames over the Waterloo Bridge, I take a different way home everyday. As I walk, I write down the name of the street I'm on and I'll google it later to figure out which way I went home.
It's really fun because I learn a lot about the city. For example, my friend Amber is coming to visit and we are going to see a show. I've heard really good reviews about one in particular, Avenue Q, and on my way home yesterday I ran right into it! So I popped my head in and found out more information about it!
One of my favorite things about being in a city is the fact you can walk anywhere and everywhere. It's quite the healthy habit!
Friday, December 19, 2008
Farewell
Yesterday was my friend Matt’s last day at London South Bank University. Matt is the friend who helped me find the job. It was bittersweet for him. Carole, an older lady who worked with Matt, organized a farewell party for him.
She had biscuits and cakes for all the well-wishers and she bought a plain blue t-shirt that everyone signed for Matt. Let me tell you, there were a few racy comments not intended for the faint-of-heart.
For the four weeks Matt and I worked together, we rode the Tube to work. I rode the Tube out of respect for Matt because it was his ritual and without him I would not have the job at LSBU.
But now that Matt is finished at LSBU, I plan to walk to and from work. Last night, we walked home to experiment with the route and we found out it is LITERALLY a straight shot!
For those of you who have not been to London, there is no such thing as a straight shot in London. The roads twist and turn and muck about changing names and directions every five meters!
Thus, it is hard to verbalize the magnitude of my shock when I found out that it’s only a 3-mile walk in a straight line from the hostel to LSBU! I mean, I don’t think I’ve walked in a straight line since I’ve been here for longer than a half of a mile!
The first reason to walk to work is it saves a lot of money. Second, you don’t save much time by taking the Tube. Lastly, and arguably most importantly, you miss all the sights and sounds of London when you travel underground.
My walk includes a trip over the Waterloo Bridge which gives me a beautiful panoramic view of the London skyline with Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and the London eye, just to name a few.
This morning, I couldn’t imagine a prettier view. The sun was rising over downtown London over blue skies and crisp air. For those of you who know my mother, you know the emphasis she instilled in her kids, including me, in getting your 15-minutes of uninhibited sunlight everyday.
Today I got more than enough vitamin D!
Also, this week I booked my ticket for St. Patty’s Day in Ireland. Me and some mates will fly into Belfast and 15 March and end up in Dublin for St. Patty’s Day. I’m stoked!
She had biscuits and cakes for all the well-wishers and she bought a plain blue t-shirt that everyone signed for Matt. Let me tell you, there were a few racy comments not intended for the faint-of-heart.
For the four weeks Matt and I worked together, we rode the Tube to work. I rode the Tube out of respect for Matt because it was his ritual and without him I would not have the job at LSBU.
But now that Matt is finished at LSBU, I plan to walk to and from work. Last night, we walked home to experiment with the route and we found out it is LITERALLY a straight shot!
For those of you who have not been to London, there is no such thing as a straight shot in London. The roads twist and turn and muck about changing names and directions every five meters!
Thus, it is hard to verbalize the magnitude of my shock when I found out that it’s only a 3-mile walk in a straight line from the hostel to LSBU! I mean, I don’t think I’ve walked in a straight line since I’ve been here for longer than a half of a mile!
The first reason to walk to work is it saves a lot of money. Second, you don’t save much time by taking the Tube. Lastly, and arguably most importantly, you miss all the sights and sounds of London when you travel underground.
My walk includes a trip over the Waterloo Bridge which gives me a beautiful panoramic view of the London skyline with Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and the London eye, just to name a few.
This morning, I couldn’t imagine a prettier view. The sun was rising over downtown London over blue skies and crisp air. For those of you who know my mother, you know the emphasis she instilled in her kids, including me, in getting your 15-minutes of uninhibited sunlight everyday.
Today I got more than enough vitamin D!
Also, this week I booked my ticket for St. Patty’s Day in Ireland. Me and some mates will fly into Belfast and 15 March and end up in Dublin for St. Patty’s Day. I’m stoked!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Westminster Abbey
The cost-effective way to see historic cathedrals and churches in London and Europe is to go to a service, rather than pay for a tour. So Sunday night, me and some mates went to a prayer service at Westminster Abbey.
For those of you who haven’t been to Westminster Abbey, it is a historic gothic cathedral in London.
So we arrived at 18:00 hours for the service only to be told the service doesn’t start until 18:30. The gentleman guarding the entrance told us there would only be music playing until the service started. We all looked at each other and said ‘OK, we will sit through the music.’
And the guard said, ‘If I was you, I’d go to the pub right around the corner, grab a pint and come back in 30 minutes.’
Not expecting his response, we decided to take his advice and went to the pub around the corner from the Abbey for a pint. We caught the last minute of the Chelsea match and enjoyed a refreshing pint.
After the pint, we returned to Westminster Abbey for the prayer service. I was in awe at the beauty and history of the cathedral. We found out Sir Isaac Newton and Shakespeare are two the many famous people buried there. Outside of the Vatican, Westminster Abbey is my favorite church I’ve seen.
I will try to get better at posting more regularly!
For those of you who haven’t been to Westminster Abbey, it is a historic gothic cathedral in London.
So we arrived at 18:00 hours for the service only to be told the service doesn’t start until 18:30. The gentleman guarding the entrance told us there would only be music playing until the service started. We all looked at each other and said ‘OK, we will sit through the music.’
And the guard said, ‘If I was you, I’d go to the pub right around the corner, grab a pint and come back in 30 minutes.’
Not expecting his response, we decided to take his advice and went to the pub around the corner from the Abbey for a pint. We caught the last minute of the Chelsea match and enjoyed a refreshing pint.
After the pint, we returned to Westminster Abbey for the prayer service. I was in awe at the beauty and history of the cathedral. We found out Sir Isaac Newton and Shakespeare are two the many famous people buried there. Outside of the Vatican, Westminster Abbey is my favorite church I’ve seen.
I will try to get better at posting more regularly!
Friday, December 5, 2008
££
Today is a wonderful day: I received my first paycheck in pounds! Plus, my bank account is finally fully functioning, which means I will no longer need to convert my dollars into pounds! What a glorious day!
My apologies for not posting this week, but I have been busy with work. I am the Course Administrator for the Masters in International Marketing and Masters in International Business and dissertations are due Monday, which means I have to sort incoming dissertations and distribute them to the correct markers. On top of that, I have the usual paperwork to file and meetings to attend.
Don’t be fooled, though. I enjoy being busy because it keeps me engaged, which makes my day go by quickly.
Last night, me and some mates went to a bar called The Social for hip-hop karaoke and let me tell you, it was everything you are thinking and more! It was hilarious watching British white people rap. What’s more, they didn’t have a karaoke machine so the participants had to read the lyrics off a piece of paper. As you can imagine, this made for an interesting night.
Before The Social, I went to the lighting of the Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree. For over 60 years, Trafalgar Square has been presented with a large Norwegian tree each winter as a token of friendship and gratitude for Britain’s assistance during World War II.
My apologies for not posting this week, but I have been busy with work. I am the Course Administrator for the Masters in International Marketing and Masters in International Business and dissertations are due Monday, which means I have to sort incoming dissertations and distribute them to the correct markers. On top of that, I have the usual paperwork to file and meetings to attend.
Don’t be fooled, though. I enjoy being busy because it keeps me engaged, which makes my day go by quickly.
Last night, me and some mates went to a bar called The Social for hip-hop karaoke and let me tell you, it was everything you are thinking and more! It was hilarious watching British white people rap. What’s more, they didn’t have a karaoke machine so the participants had to read the lyrics off a piece of paper. As you can imagine, this made for an interesting night.
Before The Social, I went to the lighting of the Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree. For over 60 years, Trafalgar Square has been presented with a large Norwegian tree each winter as a token of friendship and gratitude for Britain’s assistance during World War II.
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