3 Days in London

So, on more than one occasion and by more than one party, I have received such positive feedback on what a phenomenal blogger I am for leaving my readers in such suspense, wonder, and awe... well it was worded more like "YOU ARE FAILING AT BLOGGING" and "there hasn't been any new blogs in forever" and "update the darn blog!" Sorry to keep you all in limbo... as you can imagine, SO MUCH HAS HAPPENED! I am going to try to write about it all and break it up into sets of blogs, so bare with me. Also, excuse the lack of pictures... I have officially become an oxford resident, meaning I feel it is no longer necessary to have a camera in hand at all times (it also doesn't help that I lose things--including cameras-- and / or forget them all the time). But fret not, I have a friend who loves taking pictures and I've gotten on her about how she needs to take more to make up for my lack of picture taking!

So I believe I left you just before my three day adventure in London. That was 2 weeks ago!

I woke up Tuesday morning knowing I was headed to London, but with no notion of how I was going to get there. I literally rolled out of bed, packed one bag, and headed for the bus stop. Granted, I should have done a bit more planning. Not having any idea what I was doing, I didn't buy any tickets in advance, didn't really know which bus I was supposed to get on, where it would take me, or what I would do when it took me there.  Probably not the best way to go (I honestly don't know why I thought everything would work itself out. Perhaps I had gotten so used to getting lost in Oxford and finding my way back, that I figured expanding the radius to to London would be no different).

So I slept most of the bus ride, but the scenery I did see was gorgeous (again... so many sheep)! Now I knew I was supposed to get off at Victoria Station... only problem was that I didn't know there was a Victoria Coach station and a Victoria Underground Station. Judging by the 3 hours I spent wondering around, lost and confused, I would venture to say that I picked the wrong station. I asked for guidance from some very helpful workers and some not so helpful underground workers. One gave me a map and drew out my route, the other gave me the verbal directions "left, left, right, left, right." No street names or anything (and given my sense of direction to begin with, you can imagine how helpful that was). My journey began at 9am, but I didn't make it to the hostel until 2pm (pretty bad considering the trip probably should only have taken 2 hours max!)

Hostel

I chose this Hostel because that was where Anna, the other Dickinson student (whom I had never met) had been staying. I was very impressed with this Hostel (probably not good, seeing as this was my first Hostel experience, and probably not the last. Now I have high expectations for future Hostels)! My room was 22 people mixed men and women. Sounds dreadful, but the worst part about it was the snoring! The room itself was small, but had two levels and the first level had bunk beds, the second just one layer of beds. I was on the top level.

Stairs leading up to the floor with my bed. 

My bed 

The best part about the Hostel was meeting all sorts of people. The man in the bed across from mine checked in the same day as me and was spending 3 nights, just like me! He was from Argentina and spent the last 2 months backpacking through Europe! In fact, the same day I was leaving to go back home, he was headed to Oxford. After grilling him about the best places to visit in Europe, I told him all about Oxford (After all, I am an authority on the city, considering I had spent a total of 7 days in the city at that point in time). We also tentatively made plans for me to show him around Oxford, but that fell through due to timing issues. So after I checked in, Anna  and I planned to meet up at the tube station in Kensington. I had never used the tube before or anything remotely similar, and I had no phone or way of contacting her if I got extremely lost (which was a concern), but I made it there in one piece, and right on time no less (mostly because Anna mapped out the entire trip to the T)! 

The Tube! 

This was the first time I officially met Anna. Actually, we were in a class together at Dickinson but never really spoke to each other, which is absolutely amazing to me. We spend the entire 3 days together and I honestly can't believe how close we got over those 3 days. It's incredible we met under the circumstances we did! So the first thing we did was have classic English tea  and quiche at the Muffin Man Tea shop. Afterwards, we just chatted and walked around Hyde Park. Our method of navigation sounded something like this, "Hmmm, this street looks interesting, wanna go here?" or "I wonder where this street goes, let's find out, shall we?" It was wonderful! We ran into things like this...

and this...

yes, that says Kensington Palace

and this...

and even this...

During this time, Anna and I both encouraged each other with regards to our stressful interviews. I started to freak out because I forgot a suit! So, we did what anyone as stressed as us would do... we got crepes! 

Here's Anna with our crepes... we split them. Best decision ever! 

The next day, I walked with Anna to Portcullis House to scope out the environment where my interview would take place the next day, and where hers would be taking place that day. We walked past many magnificent sites including this...

And this (which I love!)...

And of course the London Eye...

Here's Anna asking an officer for directions outside the Ministry of Defense.

 This is Portcullis House, where my interview was scheduled... Why did I not think to bring a suit! 

I mean it is right next to Big Ben and the Parliamentary Houses! A suit seems necessary! 

So while Anna was in her interview and I continued to panic about not having a proper suit, I decided to walk around Parliament square and visit the Imperial War Museum. 

Imperial War Museum

Afterwards I found a little cafe where the cashier discovered how gullible I am and fully exploited it to his advantage... but I didn't mind because he made a mean chai tea! After Anna got back from her meeting, we headed to Primark to buy a suit! We spent the remainder of the evening working on resumes in the lounge of the Hostel. 

So the next day was my turn. I got to Portcullis House an hour early, and just walked around chatting with Anna. The entire experience seemed so surreal! At one point, I asked Anna what time it was, neither of us realizing that Big Ben was not only sitting right in front of us, but that it was chiming the hour as well! Funny enough, just before the interview, I told Anna that no one has ever asked me why I want to go to law school. The first question of the interview was why law school. The interview seemed to be going very well. I was told I "have an attractive personality, seem confident, and can work a room"! This was all before I stood up to be introduced to an MP, bumped the table and spilled tea all over my resume... oh dear, only me... But it was fine, as the interviewer was extremely kind, had a great sense of humor, and loves telling stories (he's pretty good at all different accents to embellish his stories a bit!) He gave me many many names to reach out to for potential opportunities. 

So the whole thing lasted close to two hours. We were wrapping it up, and it turns out he lives about 5 minutes from my hostel, so we rode the tube together, and continued chatting. And, it was raining, the one day I didn't bring an umbrella (literally the first time it had rained since I arrived in the UK!)... so I shared an umbrella with him till we got to my Hostel. Then he offered to give Anna and I a tour of the area! We all got changed and met up 20 minutes later (rain had stopped) and he gave us a personal tour of Hampstead, which is absolutely gorgeous! He showed us everything from where his son was married to Robert Louis Stevenson's house! It was amazing! We even stopped for lattes and talked for hours! Afterwards, he took us to his flat to meet his wife and chat some more over champagne! We talked about everything from traveling, culture differences, the education system in UK vs US, the current state of congress, their painting and pottery collections, to baby photos of their adorable grandson! Anna and I left completely blown away by how surreal the whole day was. We left their flat at 8:30pm! He had spent the entire day with us! It was so perfect! Afterwards Anna and I went to a really nice Chinese restaurant and just chatted for hours about anything and everything! Then we roamed around a bit exploring whatever we came across.

The next day, we were going to go on a free walking tour, but we missed it. Instead, we just went exploring on our own. I suggested Regents Park, which is where we spent most of the day. I could have spent all day there. The park is filled with patches of roses, 82 different kinds with names like Keep Smiling, Ice Cream, Lovely Lady, Ingrid Bergman, and Warm Wishes! We spent much of the day just smelling the different flowers! 

There was also a couple taking wedding photos!

We also came across a wonderful park for kids! I wish I had access to this growing up! 

Rock Climbing for the adventurous little tots!

Anna enjoyed the park a bit too much... we also spent about 20 minutes on the swing sets! 

Just before I headed back to Oxford, we stumbled upon the pub The Victory, where I had my first meal of fish and chip in England. I also order a Blackberry Pimms and Elderflower mixed drink. It  had slices of cucumber and lime in the drink and that really added something extra! 

So my trip to London started out very stressful and hard to take advantage of being in London with a lot on my mind. Another added stresser was that I had gotten my first reading list and paper assignment the day I arrived in London. But the trip was amazing nonetheless and I wouldn't have traded it for the world! 

Stay tuned to find out what happened during Naught Week / Fresher's Week / Week 0 (that seems like so long ago)!