So, last night I was chasing Harry, Ron, and Hermione through the streets of London. They made it through the invisible wall...I didn't.

If you ever, ever decide to go on a trip with me, put down the hallucinogenic drugs and step away from the crazy train. No, really. I'd advise against it. I think I even have a surgeon general's warning on the back of my head that traveling with me may be hazardous to your health. Time to regale you with more of Patrie's Weekend Adventures (think of that last part being said in a booming James Earl Jones-esque voice with lots of reverb).
So, this weekend, I was thinking I'd get out of London. I'd made plans a few weeks back to rent a cottage for the weekend, go up to the Cotswolds, and in general have some nice fun out of the city. I'm a country girl at heart, so hiking, nice fields and forests, and wildlife are all my cup of tea. I checked train reservations on the national rail website (www.nationalrail.co.uk) and had a cottage reserved for Friday and Saturday nights. I picked up my train tickets early, and am glad I did because my train left London at 5:40 in the morning which meant I was lucky I could walk and breathe at the same time, much less operate a ticket kiosk. I was staying in the little town of Shipton-Under-Wychwood which is in the Cotswolds (which is an area in central England that is just beautiful.) It's really idyllic and most of the houses are made out of a beautiful gold-brown stone that is apparently native to the area.
So, like I said, I left London fairly early in the morning. I took a cab to the station because the Tube doesn't run that early in the morning. It starts most lines around 5:20 but I wasn't willing to just give myself 20 minutes to get to the station and since the next train left for Shipton at 4:00 that evening, I'd decided that I really wanted to be on that early train. I got there around 8 maybe 9 in the morning on Friday, which was great because it basically meant I got to spend the whole day traveling from Shipton to Shipton-Under-Wychwood which, according to the addresses I had plugged into Mapquest, were about eight miles apart. I'd used the address from the train station to the cottage I was staying in. And to be honest, I didn't mind the walk because it would give me a great opportunity to walk around and see the Cotswolds, which was what I had come out to do anyway.
Well, just to let you know, in England, there is no I-65 N or 461W or anything like that. So, know the towns that are in the direction you want to go. For example, if you were in Indiana on I-65 going North towards Indianapolis, It wouldn't say I-65 North in England, it would say I-65 towards Indianapolis. Of course, for those of us who have lived in Indiana for years, it's obvious that Indianapolis is North of, say Louisville, and that we know that. It's a bit different for someone not from the area. So, I'm getting on A361 towards....I have no idea. Which puts me at a bit of a loss as to what direction I want to go in. And, since I see no signs saying A316 to Shipton-Under-Wychwood, I have a problem. So, I call daddy. Unfortunately, for daddy, I call him at about 4am their time. Sorry, dad, but I was lost. So, Dad gets up, out of his nice warm bed for his totally devoted, loving, very lost daughter, checks out a map, and points me in the right direction.
Well, at least I thought so. I ended up walking about two miles in the wrong direction before turning around and having to walk back. Apparently Mapquest confused eight miles, and about one kilometer, because that was literally about how far my cottage was from the train station. Perhaps a mile, mile and a half tops. But it was certainly not eight miles. And you know the real irony of the situation. I was calling my dad at the corner of a three way stop. A361 went in two directions, right and left, and right across from me was a second, smaller road. Had I gone down that road across from me, I would have been at my cottage in about 400 yards. But, oh well. I finally got there and got to see some great countryside. I just wish I could have seen it without a 20lbs backpack on my back.
Anyway, the cottage was great, and I got to see some really great sites. And I spent most of the weekend reading and drinking tea (How very English of me) and all in all it was absolute heaven.
The cottage
There were stone walls everywhere in Shipton-Under-Wychwood, most of them in excellent condition.
Now that is just gorgeous and you know it.

It is quite easy for one to get lost in the past along this path.
I just stopped in to say "Hello"
However, getting back on Sunday was a different story. Alright, so I told you how I checked for my times on the national rail website, correct. I saw that there was a train leaving Shipton on Sunday that would get me back to London sometime around 10 or 11. So, I went to the train station and waited. 10:30 came and went, still no train. I waited until about 11, thinking that it was probably late, and then looked at the time table on the train station. There are no trains that leave Shipton on Sundays. There are also no buses leaving Shipton to go anywhere where I could get a train, and none of the nearby towns are guaranteed to have a train out anyway. I learned all of this after I hiked to a gas station down the road. So, finally I just borrowed a phone book and called a cab. I think it was about one at this time. The cab company tells me it's going to be about twenty minutes. I wait forty and call them back. They can't find me. I give them more instructions (apparently there are quite a few different Shiptons and they need to know exactly which one I'm at.) I tell them I'm right down Station Road from the Shipton train station. Still doesn't help. So, finally, I ask the gas station attendant where I am. He tells me, I tell them. It still takes another hour or so for the taxi to get to me.
When it does, I still think karma's playing a practical joke on me. My cab driver's name is Fabio (no, I'm not making that up) he keeps asking me if I have a boyfriend and telling me to call him the next time I'm in town and we can go clubbing. With a population of about 500, most over the age of 65, I have to wonder what kind of nightlife Shipton has that doesn't involve a high fiber dinner and the British version of Wheel of Fortune.
So, I take the taxi all the way to Oxford with Fabio enjoying the sound of his own voice, asking me about American boys and what I like to do, what food I like to eat. When I tell him I like to cook he tells me he can cook good Indian food and then launches into a description of every Indian restaurant within a thirty mile radius. I'm still trying to decide if he wanted to take me home or if he wanted me to find him a good American boy to take home. Needless to say, I don't think I'll be calling him the next time I'm in Shipton. But he was very nice.
So, anyway, I finally made it back to London around 4 that evening. It was great fun, though, even with the glitches. I had a wonderful time in Shipton and if you ever go, try to rent the Newbarn Cottage for a few days. It was really a lovely place.

I don't have ADD, I just get easily distract- ooo, bunnies.

I've been waiting to post another blog until I did something interesting. Otherwise, I'd have about ten blogs going, "today, I woke up, ate breakfast, went to class, came back to the dorm, did some studying, went to Battersea park, ate dinner, hung out with some friends, went to sleep." However, I didn't know how much of an adventure I was actually going to have. I'll start with last Sunday since I haven't updated since the Queen's birthday.
Last Sunday I went to Hampton Court Palace. I caught a train from Waterloo station (only six pounds and well worth it) and then traveled about thirty minutes. It was neat being able to see the suburbs of London, of course, unlike US cities, there aren't huge skyscrapers, but the apartments here are much smaller than the ones in the US, even in places like Chicago and New York because land is at such a premium. They're also much more expensive. I was in Knotting Hill today and smaller homes were selling for around three million pounds. So, anyway, back on subject. Hampton Court Palace was the home of Kind Henry VIII, actually built by Cardinal Wolsey before it was taken over by King Henry when Wolsey fell out of favor. The tour was wonderful, they have a variety of activities and a lot of actors dressed up in period costume. They have an audio tour of four different areas. I did the Kitchen tour, Henry's Apartments and the Georgian Rooms (those belonging to the later kings and queens that lived in the palace). It took about two hours, possibly three just for that, and was great fun. The Tudor Kitchens are without a doubt the best, even if you just have an hour to spend it's worth it. And they have a fascinating shop where you can buy traditional style ale and wine drunk during the Tudor period.
The architecture is also quite interesting as you can see.

The, I didn't really do much during the week but some friends and I planned a trip to Stonehenge for the solstice. So, on Friday around noon we left, again from the Waterloo station (if you can find a group to travel with, tickets for four people, or family tickets for two adults and up to three children, are cheaper than four individual tickets, sometimes than even three individual tickets) to travel to Salisbury. This trip took about an hour and a half but we went far outside of London and got to see some beautiful countryside. The four of us, three girls, one guy (lucky guy, huh?) became Salisbury adventurers for the day and decided to go see the cathedral. We were lucky enough to get there during a flower show they have annually and it was just beautiful. The cathedral itself is impressive enough to see by itself, but it was so nice to see the flowers as well.

After that, we hung out in a pub for a little while and ran into the cutest little girl who was very excited about my camera. She let me take a picture of her and Bunny.
Then, after that little interlude, things started to get interesting.

The four of us went back to the Salisbury train station to take the bus to Stonehenge. So a thirty minute bus ride and a twenty minute walk brought us to the gate where we were allowed inside with the other, maybe 500 people waiting at the gate already. It was great, because we were able to get right inside and actually touch Stonehenge, the summer and winter solstices being the only time during the year you're actually able to do so.
This would be me touching Stonehenge. As a past archeology major, I can honestly say that this was just really cool. Anyway, we hung around, talked to a fun Wiccan guy named Old Grey Fox who had some really interesting stories to tell since he'd been living in the area for about thirty years, and had been in the military for about twenty years before that. Then, as night started on, things started getting a little crazy. I was personally expecting a party, but not a rave. I was expecting some music, lots of drums and Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans praying to Gaia or some Mother Goddess or something of the sort. Instead there were about twenty thousand drunk, stoned idiots running around getting progressively drunker and more stoned as the night went on. It was nearly impossible to walk through the crowd without being accosted by someone, or offered pot, or some other drug in pill form, and needless to say, it was making me a bit uncomfortable. And it's not that I can't handle some stupid drunk guy, but my fear was that twenty thousand stupid drunk guys might decide to operate on a mob mentality basis and things could potentially get a lot rougher than they were. It was also raining constantly, I was soaking wet, and it was about 50 degrees. So, at about two am, I decided to leave.
Yep, that's right. At about 2 in the morning I grabbed my stuff, said goodbye to my friends, and walked the two and a half miles or so, alone, in the dark, back to Amesbury which was the closest town. I then called my lifeline (i.e. my father) and asked him to give me the numbers of a couple of cab companies in Amesbury. I can honestly say that I felt safer walking back to town than I did at Stonehenge because the people that were walking down the road weren't quite as drunk and Amesbury is a sleepy little town where a fender bender is a rare event. I don't recommend doing this though, on a regular basis, unless you have to. So, I called a cab company to come and pick me up and take me back to Salisbury which is where I needed to take my train back to London.
By the way, Cabbies in England drive like it's the Indy 500 every day and they're just coming out of the pit and need to catch up. But, it was kind of fun to be blazing down a road at about 2:30 at around 75mph or so. Also, I had a really nice cabbie, who, when he heard my story, spent about thirty minutes just outside of Salisbury knocking on every bed and breakfast door trying to find me a room for the night because he didn't want to leave me at the train station for four hours to wait for my morning train. So, finally, my guardian angel on my shoulder, he found a bed and breakfast that had a room available for the night. So, I stayed the night there. And if you ever get the chance to go to Leena's Guest House in Salisbury, do it. She was one of the nicest people I've ever met, to give me a room at 3 in the morning, and she made an amazing breakfast for me the next morning. I will forever be in her debt for doing that because if not for her, I would have been sleeping on a bench outside the train station.
So, I got about five hours of sleep, which was great because my jeans and socks got a chance to dry out. They were damp instead of soaking when I put them back on. I also got to wash my hands and drink some water, which I hadn't done for several hours. I think it was one of the better nights of sleep I've had in my life, especially after walking for a couple hours. I made it back to the train station for the 11:20 into London. My friends were already back, though my guy friend, Alex, walked in the wrong direction and I got a call that morning at around 6:20 asking me for his number because my girl friends had lost him. I gave it to them and didn't really think about it until I woke up for breakfast. We finally found him around 8 that evening. He'd been back for a while, just got separated. Which is easy to do with that many people. So, that's basically my weekend adventure. I recommend Stonehenge on solstice for anyone that wants a huge rave, but if you don't enjoy being around obnoxious, loud, drunk people, huge amounts of marijuana smoke and other types of bathroom born drugs, and a general disregard for and desecration of an ancient religious artifact, then go for it. But, if you aren't interested in that, go at about eight when the gates open, spend an hour taking picture of yourself pretending to hold up the Stonehenge pillars, and then get the heck out of town. But I don't recommend walking at two in the morning in wet shoes. It makes for a heck of a story though, doesn't it.
Until next time, happy travels.
~P.

London's like a wack to the head with a shovel, only it tastes better!

Well, I can honestly say that I've had one of the greatest days I've had so far in London, and it's only week one. The great thing about London is, even though it's fairly big, it's small. I know that doesn't make sense, but let me explain. London is connected by a huge series of trains and cabs and buses and a number of other things that make getting from Point A to Point B quite easy even if they do happen to be across town. This was the case today.
Today happens to be Saturday, June 14th. It is the Queen's "Birthday" or her coronation day anyway, which is celebrated as her birthday. I believe her real birthday is in March and I don't think London weather in March is anything to write home about so I think it's wonderful to allow London a public celebration that lets them actually see their reigning monarch. It's both kitschy and dignified, a great combination of foreign tourists with cameras that would make even the most seasoned paparazzi weep and foreign dignitaries, nobles, members of parliament, and several hundred soldiers, royal guardsmen, and artillery troops. It's a perfect way to encapsulate the spirit of London in an afternoon. After all, London has history thousands of years old, the remains of an old Roman temple have been found right downtown, but there's also the giant gherkin (now owned by an international bank) and the new buildings going up for the Olympics to be held in London in the future.
The ceremony was about three hours long, with four different bands entering the parade grounds around 10:00am coming from Buckingham palace. Then, several companies of guards arrived in their red uniforms, bearskin hats, and high powered assault rifles (again the traditional and the modern). Then the artillery and royal guardsmen moved into place. After that, two carriages arrived. I don't know who was in the first one but I have a picture of Prince William and Camilla in the second one:


Finally, the queen arrived. I was quite lucky. I was about ten feet away from the artillery, a hundred yards away from the parade ground, and on the front row behind the barricade, so I got to see everything. If anyone ever decides they want to do this, arrive around 9 in the morning and stay for the whole thing. You may not be able to see right away, but eventually you'll get pictures like this:
So, after that was done and the Queen rode back to Buckingham Palace, my friends and I made a mad dash for the yard in front of Buckingham where the Queen was supposed to come out on the balcony and wave at the crowd while the Royal Air Force did a fly over. It looked something like this:
Why yes, those are the princes William and Harry at her side...
see.

So, after this was done, my friends and I went back to King's Road where, for the next two weeks, the Chelsea street fair is going on. It seems to have little events here and there because this afternoon it was a great market with a ton of restaurants and individual vendors selling food. I had a mint and lamb pie and then ice cream for desert. But, I think the highlight was being entertained by a cross-dressing nun...Let me explain. My friends and I are sitting near the fence that separates the small park from a small circular drive. Suddenly, up the circular drives comes a nun with a piano. No, seriously, the nun was driving a baby grand piano up the drive. Apparently the nun, dressed in a full habit, had made a fake wooden grand piano, fixed it to a platform that was then placed upon a motorized scooter (the kind you sit down in) and then an electric keyboard was placed in the body of the baby grand piano body. So, the electric keyboard would play the occasional, random sound effects, snippets from songs or the occasional choral rendition of "Hallelujah". However, as the nun rolled closer, we realized that she was a he, and a he with an amazing five o'clock shadow none the less. When he rolled over to us he proceeded to hop off the scooter and dance around for a while, hiking his habit up to his knees and I must say, he had nice legs for a nun...and a man for that matter.
After dinner and a show, we went to the London Zoo. I recommend it because it's quite beautiful, is in, or close to, Regent's Park (which is also beautiful) and because it's a great way to spend the afternoon. They also have a student discount where students get in at the child's price. Remember that one, folks. We saw some very cute baby animals, including a baby warthog and a baby monkey. And, as always, I took pictures. I'll go on and close this blog with a few cute, funny, animal pictures. If you don't say "awww" at least once then I'll give you your money back...And if you're still contemplating that last sentence then I may have to have a giggle at your expense. Safe travels.
~P.

Father forgive me for I have sinned. I entered a bookstore while on a budget.

I've had classes the last three days, the first two afternoons were spent scouring London for required course texts and realizing that books are expensive in London, even if there was a one to one pound to dollar ratio, which there isn't so it's just that much worse. Then, today I went to a library, attached to the University of London, which we are supposed to use for resource materials. It was an interesting place, but they're doing renovation so it's not somewhere I'd recommend even bibliophiles to go. Needless to say, because of that, the tourism has stopped. However, I'm less than a block away from the British Museum and I'm going there tomorrow even if it kills me, so I should have more pictures. And, like I said, if I'm not home in August, I'll be there so, you know, send a postcard or drop me an e-mail or something. I'll tell the mummies you said hello.
In the meantime, I have learned several things about being a student/resident in London, which has helped me learn how to be a better tourist. Here's what I have learned so far:
1. Apparently, after a prerequisite amount of time has passed, Londoners develop motors in their hindquarters. I want you to understand this, because, in situations where you sprint, they walk, and they will beat you. Therefore, you cannot keep up with the flow of London traffic because the flow of London traffic would beat the Pamplona bulls into the ground and have them waving white flags of surrender. So, my suggestion, keep to the right on escalators and just stand there. It may take thirty seconds longer, but the absence of mortal wounds, scars, and spinal footprints will truly make up for it in the end. Also, don't cross the intersections with the natives. They can walk across a ten yard gap in .08 seconds. You cannot. They will miss the bus, you will splat.
2. Pret a Manger: Learn it, live it, love it! Pret a Manger (or Pret for short) is the McDonalds of London without, well, to put it bluntly, the crap. Pret is basically a fairly inexpensive sandwich shop that is perfect for a lunch on the go or a picnic in one of London's many parks. They have a huge range of sandwiches, wraps, baguettes, soups, salads, and deserts, all made up, all fairly cheap. And they're not like turkey and swiss. I had bree, basil, and tomato on a baguette for 2.50 today. It was excellent. The other day I had a chicken club. I've also seen tuna, salmon, prawn, chicken, and all kinds of other things. Trust me, it's worth it to buy one of these for lunch and then spend a little bit more on dinner. Also, try their lemon-aid (5p goes to a charity organization for each bottle you buy). It's quite good, a little more sour than we're used to in the states, but it's wonderfully refreshing on a hot day.
3. Regarding pub grub: Look at the appetizer (or starters and treats). Normally, that's enough food for one person for a meal, and they have very different things than we do in the states in pubs, not just fries and peanuts and potato chips. It's fairly inexpensive as compared to the slightly more pricey bar food meals. Pair that with a beer or soda, or perhaps share one meal between two people, and you can have some pretty good eats.
4. Battersea park, on the south side of the Thames, has to be one of the most underrated attractions in London. I adore it. It's within walking distance of my dorm, around ten minutes, and is beautiful. Apparently the Battersea power station was made famous on a Pink Floyd album cover (sorry all you rock fans, I've never heard any of their songs) and I believe that cover was spoofed in the movie Children of Men (excellent flick by the way). But, on the other hand, the park itself is just beautiful and there's a huge Japanese pagoda in the center with three solid gold Buddha statues (I smell souvenir). There are also a lot of dogs out there and it's great to people watch. The other day I saw three dogs, I'm pretty sure they were part husky, part St. Bernard, and part Polar bear...No, really, they were huge and furry, and quite cute. But, anyway, it's a great place to hang out, take a Pret sandwich and enjoy the sights and sounds along the Thames that almost make you forget that you're in a huge city.

Germany vs Poland: My money's on the winner.

Hello, everyone. Thought I'd drop by before bed and put up a nice little update since today was a fun, eventful day and I'm not totally certain I'll remember it all by tomorrow night since I have class and that will probably be on the forefront of my mind for most of the day. Today is the first day since I got here that I hadn't gotten up before 8am. I wanted to. I actually woke up at about 7:30, but I have decided that I really don't want to be sick while I'm here and I suppose that exhaustion is one of the best ways to make sure that I do in fact get ill. So I slept in, woke up finally around 10:00 because my body literally wouldn't let me sleep anymore. Then I did the breakfast thing and got ready for my bus tour of London which, by the way, was totally awesome. We drove around London for about three hours before stopping at the British Museum and saw quite a few things on our way, like:
The place where the Bishop of Canterbury lives
A nice statue of Winston Churchill
Fleet Street: Hello Sweeney Todd
and a great Korean festival at Trafalgar Square.

After the tour, some friends and I opted out on seeing the British Museum since we all have plans to spend quite a bit of time there considering the fact that our classes are taught within very close walking distance of it. Therefore, if I don't come home in six weeks, check the Egyptian exhibit. I'll be posing as a mummy.
Instead we walked to a restaurant and I had some great fish and chips while a couple other friends had falafel. By the way, the chips in London are great. Chips are french fries and they're nice thick ones instead of the stringy little McDonald's french fries. We then walked back to the Korean festival at Trafalgar Square and listened to the music for a while and just hung out. Then, we decided to walk from Trafalgar Square to St. Paul's Cathedral (check a map people. It's a fair piece away) for the 6:00 service. We made it, and it was beautiful. They don't let you take pictures of the inside, especially not during services, but the outside is incredible.
The service was fun too because they had beautiful music, a wonderful organist, and Cannon Warner was a joy to listen to. I plan on going back, perhaps next Sunday for their sung Eucharist. After that it was back to the dorm and then to a local pub to watch Germany trounce Poland, at least it was 2-0 when we left and I don't know if Poland had anything left in them, though I could be wrong. I have to say, it's the most fun I've ever had watching a football game because everyone else in the pub was so into it, though most of them were supporting Poland. Their mistake. I can't help it. I speak the language, I'm visiting the country in a few weeks. DEUTSCHLAND!
Well, I can't say I have much else to write. With classes starting I may not be able to update quite as much as I'd like, but I'm hoping to. My piece of traveling advice tonight...Cars will run you down. Pedestrians do not have the right of way unless you're at the Zebra crossings, white hashes on the ground, you're merely a moving target.
Happy Travels
~P.

Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore

One more day before classes start and I have to stop playing tourist for a while and start playing student. It's sad to think about that, though I'm sure I'll enjoy my classes, seeing as how I'd love to just spend the next six weeks traveling around London all day long with my friends. Mainly because, well, I had a great day. So, some more traveling advice first to get that out of the way:
1. Always have a back up route. So you know the tube stop you need to go to to see the British Museum, but what if a certain rail line is out. Do you know what stations you should go to to change lines? How about bus numbers and stops? Unless you want to shell out a huge amount of dosh (that's money in London) then you'll probably want to keep at least one alternate route in your mind at all times.
2. London rail shuts down at 12:30 every night but there are night buses that run all night from Trafalgar Square so make sure you know which bus can take you back to your hotel/hostel/residence hall/best friend's sofa. A night of partying was never more ruined than when you found yourself without a way home unless, again, you want to shell out a huge amount of cash for a taxi.
Alright, now that that's out of the way I can tell you about my day. Started off with breakfast. I went to the market just down the street and picked up bacon, eggs, cereal, milk, some biscuits (cookies), and other not so fun stuff like dish washing detergent and paper towels. I'm lucky. I have a kitchen in my dorm and if you're staying in a hostel then you might too. Even if you're not, do a cold cuts lunch and go grab bread, cheese, and meat at a market, sit yourself down in one of the many parks around London, and have a great time. It really can save you some money. Also, and perhaps it's just being in a big city, London is huge into prepared foods, and we're not talking TV dinners. I walked into the grocery and saw at least two huge cold storage shelves of sandwiches, chicken curries, rice dishes, noodles, etc. All available to buy for just a few pounds and microwavable.
After breakfast we (meaning the entire IES program) went to Greenwich. I got the great opportunity of taking a boat ride of the River Thames and standing on the Prime Meridian.
*Big Ben from the River*
*I'm in the East and West hemispheres at the same time*

Then, after that I hung out with some friends. We went to a great market in Greenwich where we bought lunch and went to a wonderful candy shop and bought peppermint humbugs (fans of the Harry Potter series will understand this), and fudge and all sorts of good things. Then we went home, taking the long way of course. Actually, in Greenwich there's an underground walking tunnel that goes under the River Thames and we walked it and then took the DLR (which is London's above ground train) to a station to change over to the underground.
Then, when we got back to the res hall, my friends and I split up, most of them taking power naps, but I went and walked around for a while. I also made dinner, which consisted of eggs and bacon because I was craving some protein, and then I had this great candy bar called a flake. It's wonderful. I've never seen them in the states but they're basically just really good, really flaky, rod-shaped candy bars.
After dinner my friends and I met back up and all of the group when to a play at the Globe Theater, which was the coolest thing in the world. We saw Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. We were in the standing ticket section but it was great because during a change of scenery several cast members grabbed a huge gossamer blue curtain and ran it back across the whole standing audience. It started to rain a bit but I really felt like I was back in London in the 1600s watching a play in the original Globe Theater.
So, if you ever get a chance to see a show at the Globe, do it. Standing tickets only cost five pounds and they're well worth it. I don't think I've ever seen a better performed straight play in my life and considering the fact that a movie in London costs about twice that, I didn't mind standing at all.
Tomorrow brings more adventures. I'll be sure to tell you all about them.
Safe traveling,
~P.

Welcome to London, check your sanity at the door!

I’ve been up for the past 29 hours. Therefore, I reject any responsibilities for bad grammar, poor spelling, or stupid jokes that seem much more humorous after international travel than after a good night’s rest. I landed in London today at around 6:30am (London Time) but it took me a good three hours to get to my dormitory. I recommend this little tip to all London travelers. Do not attempt to take the Tube from Heathrow all the way into central London on the Blue (Piccadilly) Line (and seeing as how this is the only Tube line you can do that on I’d suggest a cab or a bus) during rush hour traffic seeing as how in all the suburbs of London, more people get onto the train than get off of it. I ended up doing that. Had to get off at the South Kensington station in order to change to the Circle (Yellow) Line. Ended up not being able to get back on seeing as how the trains on the Circle and District lines were delayed because police had requested that an old, unexploded, World War II bomb be removed from near the tracks. I didn’t mind them doing this to be honest, but if it hasn’t exploded by now, don’t you think it could wait until after rush hour?

So, I walked from the South Kensington station to King’s Road to get to my dormitory. The walk seemed about a thousand miles long, but then I made it on an empty stomach after fourteen hours of non-stop travel while carrying all my luggage, including a backpack about half my height and a third of my weight. I made the same walk about three hours later with a guide in order to get my rail pass and it seemed a lot shorter then.

Anyway, after I got to King’s Road the dormitory was easy to find as it is the tallest building in the surrounding area at ten stories high, which lets you know that I am not in a very built up area. It’s actually fairly residential and as I type now, I looked out over a large square of houses with a nicely forested central garden from my 8^th floor window. I’m in Chelsea, and I keep expecting Perez Helton to peer his brightly festooned head around from a corner because everywhere I walk I hear people in my program say, “That’s where so and so lives,” or “That’s where A-lister number One had his house but now he sold it to A-lister number Two.” I don’t know if it’s true or not, but it’s quite fun to listen to.

So, I’ve also learned a few lessons, a few pieces of wisdom before I shut down and go completely comatose right around 32 hours of no sleep…I still have time:

1. The lesson mothers teach their kids, to look left and then look right before crossing the street, is going to get me killed. Instead, I have to fight against all instinct, and look right, and then look left, because otherwise, while I see an empty street while looking left, the large car on my right is running me down because I am an idiot, and a sleep deprived one that cannot quite work through the wrong side of the road thing right now.

2. McDonalds will take over the world someday. There’s one right down the street from my dormitory. But, if McDonalds is the only fast food I see in a 24 hours period, then everything is A-OK.

3. I have discovered the secret to driving in London. The lines on the road are merely for decoration and should be ignored and avoided at all cost, even if this means swerving into oncoming traffic, nearly running over motorcycles, bicycles, and baby carriages, and that yellow lights, and the first five seconds of a red light, actually mean, “Hurry up, slowpoke!”.

4. Traveling alone has its pros and cons. If you get the chance to travel and have to do it alone, do it, don’t worry about it. You’ll make friends. I’ve already found a group of people that I’m hanging out with. But, at the same time, there were a few moments of being overwhelmed that would have been spared had I had someone with me. After all, even for a fairly independent traveler, when you arrive in a city as big as London and are suddenly stuck with the realization that you don’t know a soul in the entire country, much less the entire city and you’re going to be living here for six weeks. It gets pretty scary, pretty quickly. But, I can tell you from experience, it’s worth it.

Well, I think I’ve just about exhausted my writing abilities for tonight, and my vocabulary for that matter given the fact that I had to take a break I’m now pushing my barrier of consciousness. I’ll be sure to add more tomorrow, or, sometime soon anyway.