More Museums and...Scotland!!!

For our British Experience Seminar class we have weekly assignments where we go to some place in the city and explore it.  Last week we were to go visit the Museum of London.  I wasn't sure what to expect because I had already gone to the British Natural Museum and there was just soooo much information to absorb that it was overwhelming!!

But the Museum of London turned out to be great!!!  It went through the history of London, beginning with ancient times up to modern times.  They had specific exhibits about the various wars that the country was a part of, as well as ones describing the Plague and the great fire that destroyed much of the city.  It was a really great way to learn about the history of the country that I am staying in.  They just have soooo much more history than the United States, because London has been around a lot longer!

Sights inside the Museum of London

My excitement from visiting the Museum of London was definitely overshadowed by what I did this weekend.  I went to Scotland!!!!

Along with my roommate Anna and three other girls in the program we all booked a tour to Scotland.  We took around a 5 hour train ride to get to the city of Edinburgh in Scotland.  We had to get up at 4:45 A.M. on Friday morning to make it to the train on time but it was worth it.

Once we arrived we took a 2 hour sightseeing tour around the center of the city.  Our tour guide was Robin and he came out wearing a kilt and holding bagpipes! Not something you see everyday...but he was very funny, as all of the tour guides I have had so far have been.  On the tour we saw castles, monuments and other tourist attractions and Robin even played his bagpipes!!

Robin, our tour guide

Once the tour ended we could explore the city on our own.  We walked around downtown and looked at all the shops and sights.  We ended up going to an art gallery and looking at the paintings and sculptures for awhile.  There was even a Van Gogh and other very popular artists on display.

Because we had woken up so early that morning we went to bed REALLY quickly...which was good because we had to be ready to leave our bed and breakfast (which was really cute) by 7:45 the next morning.  We were going to see NESSIE!!!!

We took a tour bus to the highlands of Scotland and it was beautiful!  The landscape was just so pretty and I took way too many pictures...my camera died before the end of our tour  :(  But it was OK since all my friends also had cameras.  But we traveled all over Scotland, go through rain, snow and sun, while our bus driver was spitting out tons of facts at us.  We got to see Hamish and Heather, two Highland Coos (or cows), they were soooo cute!

Beautiful Scottish Landscapes

Hamish and Heather

We eventually made our way to Loch Ness and we were supposed to be able to explore a castle on the banks of the lake (loch means lake by the way), but a downed power cable was in our way so we had to turn around and go a different way so by the time we got to the castle it was already closing...but we still had a good time and I have tons of pictures from the trip.  It was long (almost 12 hours!!) but totally worth it!

Loch Ness!!!!

The castle we didn't get to go into...

Although we didn't get to go into the castle on the tour Saturday, we chose to go visit a castle in Edinburgh, where Mary Queen of Scots lived.  It was just huge, and since it is on a hill the views from the top are amazing!  There were also little museums located throughout the castle.  Most talked about the history of the Scottish military, but we also got the see the Honours, the Scottish Crown Jewels.  It was awesome to see but they don't let you take pictures of them, unfortunately.

The view from the top of the castle that we did go into...

I am so glad we chose to take a tour in Scotland.  It was really nice to be able to see a lot of the country in such a short amount of time.  I had a great weekend and I can't wait for our next trip!

Touristy Things

This weekend was pretty slow.  After the walking tour in Cambridge I know I was exhausted, as were a lot of other people.  I had a hard time staying awake on Friday night, so its no surprise that I didn't get up early on Saturday morning.  But once I did get up and going, some of my friends and I made our way to find a tourist attraction to spend the day at.

I don't know if you know this, but that was a terrible idea.  Tourist attractions on the weekend are PACKED!!!  And to add to that many of the tube lines are down which is our main way of traveling around.  However, on Saturday it actually wasn't terrible getting around.  We managed to find a tube line that was open and could take us to where we needed to go, which we had decided was going to be the British Natural History Museum.

When we arrived at the museum, there was actually a very long line outside but it managed to pass quickly and the best part was that it was free (which actually, a lot of British museums are)!!! When you first go in there is a giant skeleton of a dinosaur in the lobby and tons of hallways to lead to other exhibits.

Giant Lobby Dinosaur

Floor Plan of the Museum (so many exhibits!!!)

We made our way into a couple of the exhibits (red and green, I think) and looked at what they had to offer.  I had thought that the museum would be mainly focused on smaller children, with games and activities around the galleries.  They did have some activities, but there was so much information in the two exhibits that we did see!!!!  Along with a lot of information, there were also tons of families and other tourists there, so it was cramped.  By the time we finished with the green exhibit we were tired of fighting the crowds and decided that maybe it would be best to come back and finish the rest on a weekday...

After fighting the crowds on Saturday, I was again exhausted (unusual, right?) So we left Vandon House around 1:00 pm on Sunday to go to Trafalgar Square.  We were heading this way because it was the celebration of the Chinese New Year, which actually took place last Thursday.  Obviously when you go to something like this it is going to be crowded because it is a tourist attraction but I guess its not real until you get there.  But once we arrived it was like being in a sea of people!

There was a giant stage set up with Jumbotrons (like the big TVs at sporting events) in the middle of Trafalgar Square.  For a while we watched traditional Chinese singers and dancers perform on stage.  It was pretty interesting, definitely much different that our singers and dancers in America.  After this we went in search of more entertainment, only to be back in the sea of people again!  We ended up not really being able to see anything else, and it was kind of a let down.  I would have thought there would be more parades or other forms of entertainment but we didn't come across any.  Oh well, I guess that was a sign that I should go home and take a nap...

Things I did see during the Chinese New Year Celebration...

 The beginning of the week is relatively boring because my internship hasn't started yet.  I do have my Intro to British Theater class on Monday but unlike last week we didn't also have a production on Monday as well.  On Tuesday, our entire Central Program went to an Indian meal.  It was very different from anything I have ever eaten.  This was the first time I had ever eaten Indian cuisine, and also the first time that I had ever had lamb.  I thought that everything was going to be really spicy but that wasn't the case.  That's not to say nothing was spicy, because there were definitely some dishes that were HOT!  I didn't think it was too bad.  It was nice to try something different but I don't think I would ever choose on my own to eat it though...

Then today my roommate, Anna, and I went on a walk, which was also an assignment for our British Experience Seminar class.  It required us to walk past several art galleries, a church and brewery among other things.  The walk wasn't super interesting so we got distracted by an Urban Outfitters that was along our walking path.  There are so many cute stores and boutiques, that it is hard to avoid them all...but I'm trying!

Sights on our walk...

Tonight, for my theater class we are going to see the "Invisible Man" a production based on the novel by the same name written by H.G. Wells.  I am actually really excited to see this because the play includes 'tricks', which I am assuming has to do with making a man invisible.  I'll see how it goes.

Em

Classes, exploration, classes...and exploration again.

On Monday I had my first class of the spring semester, called Introduction to British Theater.  Although the class is 2 1/2 hours long it seemed as though the class will be very engaging and fun.  The best part is that I will be able to see about 10 plays/productions during my time in London.  During class we got to learn a little more about our professor, Michael.  He is a very accomplished director, so it seems I will be learning a lot about many theater aspects.  Although I'm not generally interested in theater classes, this one seems really fun and on the plus side it will help me fulfill some remaining required courses for Central.

Then later on Monday night we also had our first required production entitled "Once Bitten" and the Orange Tree in Richmond.  The play was supposed to be a comedy and it was actually quite funny.  The themes of the play included adultery and the murder of a dog, which I guess makes for a hilarious production.  And the only thing that could make this better was ice cream, which I had during the intermission... :)

On Tuesday and Wednesday, I would normally have my internship where I would work from 9 - 5 on both of these days taking the tube to Canary Wharf, but because of my background check not being completed I still have these days of the week off as well.

I did practically nothing on Tuesday, except try to stay out of my room from 11 - 3 because it was to be cleaned.  I did try to prepare a budget for my time in London but that went nowhere...

However, on Wednesday I went out with my roommate Anna to Camden Market.  Camden Market is very different from central London where Vandon House is located.  Its a little bit grungier and the people who work there are of a much more diverse background.  The first market that we went into was just a series of tents and stalls where clothing, handbags and other accessories are sold.  It was a bit disappointing because we had heard that it would be more impressive than this.

Eventually, we walked further on down the street and we found a HUGE open air market with tons more stalls.  Outside were many Chinese food stalls, and the people working were giving out free samples to try to entice customers to buy from them.  Well let me tell you that the samples were DELICIOUS and since I heart Chinese food it was difficult to resist.  But I found the strength to move along and look at what else was for sale.

We found some adorable shops (most of them run by adorable little Asian women).  Many of the shops sold beautiful handbags...and anyone who knows me knows that I love them!!! So it was difficult not to buy but it just wasn't a good enough deal.  We did find a bunch of vintage stores with my kind of clothing as well but I didn't get anything there either...I did buy a pair of earrings though.  I couldn't help myself!!

The market was so big it took us about 2 hours to walk through, but it was a really good time.  On the way back to the tube we also stopped by a local food market and I drooled over the strawberries that they had for sale.  I didn't buy any because I already have some oranges left to eat, but they just look sooooo good!!!

On Thursday, I had my remaining classes start, British Experience Seminar (BES) and Contemporary Britain (CB).  I think I will enjoy BES because it manly deals with our feelings and experiences while in London, but I am not so sure about CB.  The class is mainly focused on history and issues in the media.  I am not generally interested in these subjects.  I hardly ever even read the paper, but maybe this will get me into the habit of keeping up on current issues...I will just have to wait and see.

Today though, was probably the most exciting day of the week.  The whole group took a walking tour of Cambridge on a day trip outside of London.  We took the train to get there, starting at 9:20.  It was an early morning, which wasn't helped by the fact that we walked all day long.  The walking tour took about 2 hours, which seems like a really long time but with a good tour guide it doesn't seem as long.  During this time we walked by a historic pub, a couple of the colleges that make up Cambridge, and went inside a beautiful chapel, among other things.

Some of the things we saw on our walking tour.

After the tour we were allowed to go out and explore on our own.  So of course we went shopping for a bit, before actually exploring.  Eventually, we were coerced into taking a punting tour on the river Cam.  And this actually turned out to be the best part of the day.  Punting is where you are on a boat and you use a long stick to push off of the riverbed and move yourself along.  Well, it was really windy today so our punter, Johnny, had a hard time of it, with 12 people on the boat.  But he was very funny and knowledgeable on the tour and I took a bunch of pictures!! For as windy as it was it was still very beautiful and I am really glad that we went on it.

Sights from the river Cam

As a side note: On the way home on the tube we saw an adorable puppy who was perched on his owner and he was just took cute.  I didn't get a picture because that would have been really creepy but it made me think of Louis and how adorable he is as well!!! So cute....