London, Day Two

Its around 2 here in London, and we have just finished our "planned" activities for the day. We got up super early this morning and headed out for a walking tour of London. Our over zealous tour guide made sure to inform us that the real London is only one square mile, and parts like Westminster Abbey (which we will see tomorrow) are really more like their own cities or boroughs like Queens or Manhattan. We got the chance to see a lot of historic London, and places that have existed for several hundred years. Our group even stood where the old Roman Coliseum was, which now has buildings above it since modern day London is eighteen feet above where Roman London was.

The fire of 1666 here is a big deal apparently, especially according to our tour guide, who loved to talk about it the entire day. There are several church towers left where churches were before the tour. We also got to see St. Paul's Cathedral which was a-m-a-z-i-n-g. We couldn't take pictures, but it is where Princess Diana and Prince Charles were married, and it is absolutely gorgeous. There is a lot of history there, and during the bombings of London in WWII, it was hit just twice, and survived, unlike the rest of London. We were shown a picture of the dome of St. Paul's that was evident through the smoke, and a symbol to the British people that London would be okay.

Now we are planning to shower, nap, and do laundry, as it's "Bank Holiday" here and most things are closed. We were pumped to find a tv channel that is showing Scrubs and Friends! I'm missing all the warm Memorial Day activities, since we were all freezing in the 50 degree wind!

Peace and blessings, Peace and blessings.

P.S. I know I am horrible at posting pictures. Maybe later I'll do a full picture post, or, maybe not. Just kinda depends on my mood, haha.

The Rest of Edinburgh and the Beginnings of London!

I know I have been terrible at keeping up with this, but I really need to keep an account of being here, so I am going to try to do better! We had class twice this week, and really had free reign of Ediburgh after that. We went to the Museum of Scotland, the Library of Scotland, the Royal Gardens, Parliament, and a bus tour of the Highlands which were all awesome :) I promise I'll get around to posting pictures.

We got into London around 2 this afternoon, and arrived at our flats shortly after. They are cute, although our tv already isn't working haha. Things smell a little strange here, so we may have to go get some Febreeze or something. I think tonight some of the girls are going to see Sex and the City 2 at a theater not too far from here. It should be just relaxing, although apparently you can drink in theaters here, so I'm sure we will find a way to get into some shenanigans. And probably be "ugly americans" as one of our professors likes to call it, hahahaha.

Tomorrow we have a busy day, and I am going to force myself to get on and post some stuff, plus pictures from the past few days!

Peace and Blessings.

Edinburgh, Part One

Yesterday after showering the 24 hours of flight off of us, Lib, Caitlin and I grabbed some dinner and set off on exploring Edinburgh. This picture is straight down the "main street," called High Mile. There are a ton of restaurants, stores, and touristy places down this street, as well as some important monuments (if I knew what they meant, I'd tell you).

There are little gardens like this one all over Edinburgh, although some of them are for residents only. This one was really cute, although there was a drunk guy passed out in the grass, haha.

I then found my new boyfriend, although his personality wasn't as intriguing as my old one. He was, however, a good dancer. Sadly, I decided that we couldn't manage the long distance and his cold personality.

Then we decided to head down to a pub with a bunch of people from our program, which was a ton of fun. We saw this crazy live band, which is still making my ears bleed tonight! Still, I had a really dark but delicious beer named after someeeeeone, and then headed to another pub, where there was an El Rod's-esque booth that fit all of us, including me and the roomies :)

Today was a planned day as a part of our program, and we ended up at the Writer's Museum, Giles Cathedral, the Queen's Gallery, and the Scottish Parliament. It was all pretty interesting, although after only a few hours sleep, I was begging for a Diet Coke! Blogger is being ridiculous about pictures right now, so I promise I'll post those tomorrow! The biggest thrill had to do with some guards at the Queen's Gallery, and I will be sure to put those up!

I Finally Have Internet!

Internet costs 15 pounds for unlimited access a week here in Scotland, but it's worth it to be able to communicate! I've a had a great time thus far out with my group in various pubs and restaurants, and seeing that it is after midnight here, I am about ready to head to bed. I promise I'll upload pictures soon! My flight from DC was great, and although I didn't get much sleep, I did get to watch some Friends and Sex and the City! Hopefully next weekend, my roommates for my flat in London, Elizabeth and Caitlin, will go see it with me :) Right now, I am in a hostle in Edinburgh (pronounced Ed-in-bore-oh) with seven other roommates, so it is a bit crowded!

Sorry this is so short, but I must be up at seven thirty or so tomorrow (or I guess it is today here) morning, so I am planning to head to bed shortly. We are planning to head to a few museums and even see the Queen's place (although, not all of it, because she is actually here right now!). After dinner at a delicious Italian restaurant... don't hate, we needed something other than fish and chips, Lib, Caitlin and I explored a little bit and found the Scottish Parliament. We all agreed it was the ugliest building ever! The queens place is much nicer though, so I have some great pictures of that!

Love to you all!

Megan

Scotland finally!

Hi :)

I am going to use this blog as I study abroad in Scotland and England for May/June 2010. I am going to try and update it every one or two days so I can have a recollection of my trip and to make my mom feel better about me leaving the country for a month :) I'll upload pictures and whatnot as well. I leave Saturday, so be looking for a post sometime Sunday or Monday!