Back to School

We woke up early this morning to go see the Changing of the Guard ceremony at Buckingham Palace. Though I don’t really understand the purpose, the pomp is certainly interesting to see. The Queen’s guards wear these awesome bearskin hats. I would totally invest in one to wear to class in the winter.

Awesome bearskin hats. Being tourists.

Anyways, we arrived just after 11 a.m. and the place was alreadypacked for the 11:30 event. We took some tourist snapshots and huddled up to the gate to watch the presentation. At 11:30 on the spot, the marching began and the music picked up. Apparently, the music selection changes and we were treated to an ABBA medley to being the ceremony and a Michael Jackson mix to close. From what I could see through the gates, the guards did a bit of stomping, a bit of shouting and a lot of standing. At some point the guards were changed and the band and retiring officers marched back out through the mall, arms a-swinging in unison. It was very impressive, though again I don’t pretend to understand the significance.

Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace.

After a quick trip to the palace, we jumped back on the tube to make it home in time for the first day of classes. I had Play Critique class at 1:30 and I barely made it back in time to grab a quick bite for lunch and then I was off to class. Luckily, this class meets in the basement of Thoresby house, so it takes about five seconds to get there.

The first class session went well. There are only three other students in my class, so any skimming on the reading will be hard to get away with. For the most part today we just introduced ourselves and then learned about the Arts Council, which provides funding for museums and theaters throughout England. Its an interesting concept, one that I plan to take full advantage of considering that it ensures free entry to the museums throughout London. For the rest of the course we'll be attending a variety of plays and discussing their relative merits. Should be interesting!

cheers,
kate.

A Day in the Park

Sophie and I decided to go on a park outing today, despite the grey weather. With a few Thoresby friends in tow, Sophie and I hopped on the tube and made our way to St. James Park. As we passed BuckinghamPalace we were caught up in the crowds, watching a procession leaving the palace gates. As the very kind British woman in front of us explained, it was a celebration of the Salvation Army Band’s 125^th anniversary. Representative bands from all over the world were parading through the mall in front of the palace all decked out in their uniforms. After the procession ended, we made our way across into St. JamesPark.

Salvation Army Band from America!

The ancient trees shade acres of lush lawns and gravel paths lined with benches. We grabbed some beverages at the coffee stand and set off for a stroll through the park on a lovely spring day.

Park adventures!

cheers,
kate.

The British Library

Sophie and I went to the British Library today. We had to register for permission to use the library resources. It’s a very strange process and I’m not entirely sure if I’ll ever use the library, but the archives there are incredible. Within the center of the building is a huge glass case, several stories tall that houses the oldest texts in the collection. The ground floor has a café that looks into the archives, so I may be spending a good deal of time there. I have no idea why, but I absolutely love old books. The way they look and smell and feel, so much sturdier than modern texts. You just know they’re a part of history themselves.

Anyways, I’m rambling. Here’s pictures! These were the only ones I could snag before I saw the “no photography allowed” signs.

The British Library entrance hall. Ooh ahhh.

cheers,
kate.

Classes & Camden

We headed to City University this morning to register for classes. Unfortunately, I can’t just spend the summer wandering around London all day and night, a fact I had forgotten temporarily. Registering for classes with only 12 other students was quite different than registration at UT. No registration times, nowaitlists, no waking up at 8 a.m. only to find out your classes are already closed. It was a nice change. After learning a few things about how the education system works here in the UK, we were able to pick up our syllabi and talk to our professors. British students don’t attend classes in the summer so our classes are just American students, but British lecturers teach our courses, which is pretty cool. I’m enrolled in an Introduction to Shakespeare class and Play Critique. I’m hoping both will count for course credit at home because the schedules and workloads are a bit more demanding than I was anticipating. I don’t know how I’m going to see London from behind all these books I’m supposed to be reading!

After course registration was finished, several of us ventured west of Islington to Camden Town. It’s an area known for its punk youth population and giant street market. Amy Winehouse is a famous resident of the area, if that gives you any sense of the place. The market is housed within the historic Camden stables so the stalls are built up around old brick columns and cobblestone alleys. It’s a pretty cool place. We browsed the markets many offerings, from vintage clothes to antique furniture to red leather combat boots, and then went to a food stall for lunch. As our program direct Daniel told us, “When in doubt, choose the place with the longest line” so we selected a Japanese stand that served something that was supposed to be Teriyaki chicken. Though I was a bit hesitant at first, the food turned out to be pretty good and for the price I really can’t complain.

Cool chandelier in the market.

Boys in Camden market.

My cool Camden hat.

cheers,

kate.

London Scavenger Hunt

As part of our orientation, Arcadia created a scavenger hunt for us to explore London. We were split into groups and given a litof tasks to accomplish at several London landmarks. After a quick pub lunch, we ventured off to find our first location. We were instructed to take the Tube (London Underground) to St. Paul’s Cathedral and find two installationsoutside that honour the Queen. Just aquick trip on the Northern Line and a change at Bank to the Central Line and we were there! St. Paul’s is a stunning building, its dome towering over the Themes river and the surrounding buildings. As we played tourist and snapped some photographs, we came across a statue in front of the main steps commemorating the Queen. Though I never found the second mention (maybe the rest of my group did?) I checked that one off and we set off.

St. Paul's Cathedral Statue of the Queen!

Since it was a beautiful day in London, we were all hesitant to immediately run back underground so we walked across the Millennium Bridge, which features St. Paul’s at one end and the Globe Theater and Tate Modern Museum at the other. The Millennium Bridge is famous in my mind for the scene in Harry Potter 6 where the death eaters destroy the bridge with their black smoke flying tricks. Obviously I relate everything here to Harry Potter whenever possible. To others I’m sure the bridge is notable for its modern architecture or something boring like that (just teasing).

Path to Millennium Bridge!

After trekking across the bridge, we walked along the south shore and gradually made our way to our next few stops. Our day’s adventures included a stop at 10 Downing Street (where Prime Minister David Cameron lives), the National Gallery, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, and Covent Garden. Our final stop landed us in Southbank to find the illusive “giraffe” which turned out to be a trendy restaurant overlooking the river. Though we didn’t stay, Southbank is definitely on my list to explore as well as several of the other venues we hunted for. The day was exhausting, but it was a great way to get our bearings in the big city.

Big Ben

cheers,
kate.

Thoresby

After a good night’s sleep at the Lime Tree, I woke up just in time to have some tea (so British!) and toast before check out. I ran a few errands and then hopped in a taxi and headed to my new home for the summer. Thoresby house is an international residence for students studying abroad with Arcadia’s College of Global Studies. It’s located in the borough of Islington, about half an hour north of central London.

Unfortunately, my taxi driver wasn’t sureexactly how to get here, so we took a bit of a round about route. We passed Buckingham Palace just as the Changing of the Guard ceremony was ending and the mall was absolutely packed with people. As we waited impatiently for them to clear the streets, a bus in front of us stopped next to the Royal Mews (the Queen’s Cavalry stables) and all the horse guards filed on board. They were dressed in their uniforms, complete with knee-high boots and shiny plate armor. As they boarded they all had to remove their hats because they have tall spikes on the top with giant tassels on the end and they couldn’t fit through the bus door. It was pretty cool to see, but the taxi driver was no help in figuring out where they were being bused off to.

The Life Guards, a branch of the Queen's cavalry.

When we finally arrived at Thoresby house the taxi driver promptly kicked me out and sped off. I think he was irritated at having to drive so far away during peak times, but oh well. I hauled my suitcase up the steps and was greeted by Nelson, our Resident Life Assistant for the summer. He graciously welcomed me and helped my get my bags up to my new digs. Unfortunately, there is no lift, so after three flights of stairs I was really grateful Nelson was there to help. Thoresby house has a big central staircase and the rooms are arranged in a square around it. Each floor has a shared lounge and kitchen, as well as bathrooms and showers and the rest of the square is made up of single and double occupancy rooms. They’re pretty basic dorm style. I share with Sophie and we each have a bed, a wardrobe, a desk with some shelves and a fridge. Nothing fancy, but for the next few months it’s home!

Thoresby house.

After settling in we took a trip to the local version of Target and a grocery store to get some supplies for the first few days. Argos, a.k.a. British Target, is a catalog store. Apparently since they are so limited on space in the city they have these types of stores all over. Basically, rather than having rows and rows of shelves with products lined up on them, they have several rows of tables with giant, thick catalogs for customers to look through. When you find the item you want and the color, you write a code down on a list and take it to the cashier. They enter your items and check the stock and then you pay for your items. Approximately eight minutes later your items are pulled from the warehouse, bagged and handed to you, simple as that. Cool concept, though very strange at first. Sophie and I decided on orange sheets for our bed because in the catalog they were described as "burnt orange." How fitting! Hook 'em! :)

cheers,
kate.

Across the Pond At Last!

After taking a rather odd route to get here, I am finally in the land of the Londoners! I arrived around 8 a.m. fresh-faced and beaming. Jokes. Limping along the jet bridge, sleep deprived and disheveled, I made my way through London Gatwick like a pro. After hauling 800 pounds of luggage around the terminals and on and off a train, I caught a cab to the quaintest hotel in London, the Lime Tree. Located in Belgravia, the hotel is just around the corner from Victoria Station and Buckingham Palace, so its the perfectplace to spend my first day. My tiny single room overlooks Ebury Street, which has apparently housed some notable Londoners over the years, including Alfred Tennyson, George Moore, Mozart and Michael Caine. The initial excitement of finally being herewore off quickly and I settled in for a nap around 11 a.m. Despite two alarms set for 1 p.m., I didn’t wake up until nearly 3. No sleep and transcontinental travel makes Kate a dull girl.

My tiny, but perfect room at the LimeTree! :)

After a refreshing, but far too short nap, I decided to grab a coffee at the local shop Costa and venture out into London. All the signs pointed towards Buckingham Palace, so I succumbed to the peer pressure and headed that way. The palace itself is absolutely enormous. Standing outside the gates and peering in, I felt like a bit of a creeper… but that’s nothing new.
I spent the rest of the afternoon reading on a bench in Hyde Park and enjoying the superb people watching available. Now I’m settled back into my hotel enjoying some Indian takeaway for dinner and watching a movie. Day one across the pond: success.

cheers,
kate.