Living London: Cheers to the first Weekend in London

Hello Everyone!

My first weekend in London has been wonderful!

Friday: We slept in until about 10:30 before setting off on our tourist day. Marisa, Beth, Kali, Liz P (there are two Liz's in the house - Liz P and Liz S), Beth, Andrew, John and I embraced being tourists and set about seeing all the wonderful places of London. We saw Green Park, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, and the Houses of Parliament. We just missed the changing of the guard at the Palace so we'll have to go back to see sometime soon. We only took pictures of all these places and decided once we have our student I.D.'s we will try and see what kind of student discounts we can get for tour tickets, etc. After putting off getting food until we were literally starving, we ate lunch at a place called "The Churchill" (I guess we have a thing for "Churchill" places. I got soup and bread and it was very good.
After lunch the boys decided to head back to the house while us girls continued exploring. We wound up going to the National Gallery and walking around for a little while. It is wonderful that the museums (with a few exceptions) are free here. I saw a lot of Italian art work from the 1400s-1700s. Standing a top the museum steps and over looking Trafalgar Square on a sunny afternoon has to be one of my favorites sights from this first week. Though climbing the steps of the Gallery may not have been as epic as climbing the Art Museum steps like Rocky it was still awesome. I also got to take a picture next to the countdown clock for the Summer 2012 Olympic Games (being held in London this year) - almost 200 days to go exactly. It was really neat.
After leaving the Gallery we decided to head home and rest before Marisa, Beth, and I went out. The three of us were invited to Marisa's cousin, Martin's, birthday party. The three of us ventured out into the London night life and met Martin, his co-workers, and friends at a pub called "The White Church" on Carnaby Street. It was my first true interaction with any British since arriving in London and they could not have been sweeter people. Everyone was so warm and welcoming to us and were curious to talk about our lives in America and how we were finding London so far (the "stereotype" of the British being stand-offish proved to just be that - a "stereotype"). Martin and his friends were so nice and even complemented us on our accents. After "The White Horse" we went to a club across the street that played many hits from 2004, but I didn't mind, it was a lot of fun to just be able to dance and have a good time. After a fun-filled night the three of us made our way back to Notting Hill and went right to sleep. I hope we are able to see Martin and his friends again.

Saturday: Once again, we slept in until 10:30 am. While Marisa spent the day with her Aunt, Beth, Liz P, Essete, Kali, and I headed to Portobello Road and the famous Portobello Market. We were not able to spot out Hugh Grant's shop or house from the film "Notting Hill" but we did see George Orwell's home. It was lovely to walk up and down Portobello and check out all the shops. After realizing how lucky we were to live so close to Portobello and knowing we'd be back every Saturday we headed out for lunch. Beth, Essete, Liz P, and I made our way through Kensington Palace Gardens where many embassies are located. Every embassy building is grand and gorgeous. We went to lunch in a cute little French restaurant right off of High Street Kensington. I got breaded cod and frites (the closest thing I could find to fish and chips which I was craving). After lunch we were going to go to see Kensington Palace but it turned chilly and we were tired so we went home to rest. Part of our resting consisted of watching the beginning of the film, "Notting Hill." I guess we could have done that before heading to Portobello Road but we still enjoyed ourselves. Saturday night our first real night out as housemates (flat mates). Jonathan, a friend we have met in the house, took us to Camden to a pub he had heard about. Jonathan lived in the house we all currently live in last term also as he is studying for a full year at a dance conservatory here in London. Again realizing a US/UK difference, that we were NOT going to Camden, NJ, we all hopped on the night bus ready to have a great time.
The pub was a very relaxed place and we met many people from all over the world...places like Sydney, Scotland, Ireland, and even Chicago. Being in London allows us to meet so many different types of people from every culture and walk of life, it is definitely making me realize what great experiences and opportunities I have as a result of deciding to study abroad. We all had so much fun and after a very fun night we all headed back to Notting Hill, hung out for a little while, and went to bed.

Sunday: Again, as I have seemed to do everyday we've had off, I slept in until 10:30. I watched a little of "Friends"(which always seems to be playing on Comedy Central here and is becoming our "default" show of choice) with Essete and John. After a late breakfast Marisa, Beth, Kali, Essete, and I made our way to Kensington Palace. Though the palace is under construction until my birthday (March 26th) it was exciting to see the home and Will and Kate. They have a beautiful view of the park that lies on the property and a grand lake. We sat by the lake and just took a few moments to really enjoy being in London. After an hour or so Marisa, Kali, and I ventured back to High Street Kensington. Marisa and I were on a mission for black jeans; I believe - correction, I know- every woman in London owns a pair of black jeans. I did not and therefore needed to acquire them. I found a great, comfortable pair at TKmaxx (that's right TK not TJ), now I feel I can truly being to fit in here. After shopping we headed back to house. I had a sandwich for dinner and all the roommate hung out in the common room watching "Bridget Jone's Diary". Our Sunday has been very relaxed as we are all preparing to start classes tomorrow (crazy!). Today I also got to call my Grandmom and Skype with my Mom, Dad, and brother, Eddie and that was wonderful.

I am loving London so far. I feel like I have already done so much in my first week and can not wait to continue this great adventure. The classes at Birkbeck seem like they will be interesting and I'm actually very excited to start them.

I hope you all are enjoying this blog.