Scotland!

Hello there! I'm writing this post on my phone so please excuse my typos. 

Today Jill and I left for Scotland! We left Metrogate super early because we both like to get the the airport with a ton of extra time. I'm really glad we do because I got stuck in security with a bunch of liquids that I carelessly left in my luggage. After a long while we found our terminal and gate and relaxed. Our plane boarded and within about and hour and a half we were in Edinburgh. We took a bus to a train station and then walked about 5 minutes to our hostel. Jill and I were a mess the entire ride. Everything is beautiful here. I fell in love within 2 minutes of being on the bus. Our hostel is a pretty interesting place. We are in an all female room with 16 beds. There was only one girl in the room when we got here. Her name is Anna. She is an American teaching in the highlands and she's on a break from school. The tree of us went to dinner together at an Italian place around the corner. She also recommended a tour she is taking tomorrow. We looked at it and decided to join her! After dinner we came back and tried to find wifi and somewhere to hang out. This place is kinda weird but also intriguing so I think it will be a good experience. I'm so excited to explore the city!!

JessLynn

Sherlock Tour

Today Jill and I planned our own Sherlock walking tour. We found a bunch of filming locatoins online and then went to those places and took pictures. Below I have put a few of my pictures with shots from the show right beneath so those of you who are not Sherlock fans can really appreciate it.

Hungerford Bridge

South Bank Skate Park

Oxo Tower Foreshore

The Diogenes Club (It's really the British Academy)

Buckingham Palace (Interior shots were filmed somewhere else)

The original plan was to meet up with Cailtin for lunch at the Sherlock Holmes Restaurant on Northumberland Street but when we walked in they told us it would be an hour wait for food. We were starving so instead we went to a place called Garfunkel's. It's a chain restaurant that is really cute. I had fish and chips and it was absolutely delicious.

Here are a few extra shots I took out today. We had a really great day. The weather was fantastic and walking around felt really good. I love it here so much and I find something even more amazing each day. Tomorrow, Jill and I fly to Scotland and we are so incredibly excited. I can't wait to be in Edinburgh. I should be able to blog but I might not until I am back in London. Don't worry though, I will be sure to tell you guys all about it! 

 JessLynn

Shakespeare's Globe

So yesterday (Friday) I needed a bit of time away to chill out and get over my stress from the night before. I didn't do much and that's ok because it rained all day. There isn't a whole lot to report but, Jill and I decided that this weekend would be amazing.

Today (Saturday) we had an adventure. We got up and mailed postcards and our tickets so we could get a little money back. Then we came home and ate some lunch. After lunch, we went out. There was no real plan but that was ok. We did have one goal though, Shakespeare's Globe. Other than that we were just going to wander around and explore. As soon as we stepped outside however, it started raining again. We made the very quick decision to go to a museum instead. We went back to the Museum of London. We have already been there once with class but we were unable to finish so that became the new goal. We spent a while there and luckily the rain had stopped. So we were off to The Globe. We rode the tube to Tower Hill and got out. We were right by the Tower of London and, judging from our map, the Globe was just up a little and across the river. That was not right at all. We walked for a very long time until we could even see the bridge we needed to use to cross the river. We crossed over Millennium Bridge which is featured in one of the Harry Potter movies.

View of the Millennium Bridge from the South Bank. St. Paul's in the background.

The Globe was beautiful. It was odd to see it in the middle of the city. We didn't take a tour but we did get to see the outside and we stopped at the gift shop to buy a button. I am going to have a ton of buttons by the time I am done with this trip. Being at the Globe was a little surreal. It still hasn't really hit me that we were actually there.

View of the Globe from the bridge.

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre

The entrance to the shop and theatre.

After we saw the Globe we decided it was time to head home. The nearest tube station was about a 20 minute walk away so we reluctantly went searching for it. On our way to find the tube we were very aggressively honked at by someone who tried to kill us. It was not our fault, we had the right of way but apparently he disagreed. I then experienced one of the most awkward moments of my entire life. A group of about 7 very tall people was walking directly at Jill and I. I planned on moving to the right so we could easily pass each other. I stepped in front and quickly realized that the man directly in front of me was not going to look up from his phone and see me in time. In an effort to not walk right in the middle of their group, I decided to go all the way to the left. The woman on that side was not having any of it. She quickly stepped to the edge of the road, causing me to be in the center of their group. There was only one more person in my way before I passed through the group. I took a step to my right as he took a step to his left so we could pass each other. Surprisingly to me, at the last second, he took one giant step to his right. I tried to stop so he wouldn't walk right in to me but I was slightly unsuccessful and I almost fell over. The weirdest part of this experience was that none of them seemed to have any care in the world. None of them noticed that I had just tried to play pinball between them all. They just continued walking. I turned around with the most confused expression to find Jill behind me looking just as perplexed. We laughed for a good 10 minutes at how bizarre the whole thing was.

We found this on our way to the tube.
It reminded me of Island Cafe in Island Lake and made me laugh.

A pub in Southwark.

After we got home Jill and I immediately changed into our pj's and watched some TV while we planned our trip for tomorrow. We went to a pizza place right down the road and got some of the best pizza I have ever had. Today was really great. Although I am completely exhausted, walking through the city has really helped me understand the geography and I absolutely love how beautiful this entire city is. I am totally ok with not being in Wales this weekend because we have had a great time here.

JessLynn

Sometimes it's hard being an adult.

This is the post where I break down a bit. Let me explain.

This morning I woke up and got ready and immediately started my Crime Fiction essay. I worked right up until I left for class. As soon as I got to class however, I learned it was cancelled. I sat in the classroom for a bit with Mallory, Ben, Dyllan, and Mitch. We watched the live stream of the Olympics. The America vs. Slovakia hockey game to be exact (US totally annihilated Slovakia 7-1). After the game we all headed back to Metrogate. All afternoon I worked on my paper and started getting ready for our trip to Wales. I also got to skype with Abi and Portia! I miss them so much and seeing them in the room without me made me a little bit homesick. After a very long evening of forcing myself to write my essay I finally finished. I packed a bit more and was just about to head to bed when I decided to check the train schedule to see what the lines looked like. Of course, it wasn't good. One of the lines we are taking is flooded so Jill and I got together to talk it through. After deciding that we were going to try to catch an early train in the morning we headed off to bed. I couldn't fall asleep because I was so stressed (thanks go out to Cyndi for listening to me freak out on facebook chat). The problem wasn't getting to Wales, it was getting back in time for our flight to Scotland. The Scotland part of our trip is a little more important to us because we are going to be there for almost a week and we have a bus tour planned and everything. A few minutes later, Jill came and knocked on my door. She had called her mom and they talked it over and she suggested we just don't go to Wales. It isn't worth possibly getting stuck there. I knew that if I talked to my parents they would probably say the same thing. Jill and I felt instant relief and I went to call my dad. I knew he would understand but I still wanted to talk to him so he would make me fell better about the whole situation. I tried calling and with this internet, it was a disaster. I texted him and, in trying to find a wifi signal, found myself sitting on the floor. That's when I finally broke down. The stress of everything just hit me and I missed being at home a lot. This is the first time I've started crying since I've been here but it's ok. It's not a bad thing. I am alright. Everything just got a little too much for me to handle and after it was all done and handled, my emotions finally caught up with me. I'm actually pretty proud of myself that I've made it this long without having a little freak out. I have been so independent here and I feel like an actual adult. I am so proud of myself for what I've done and that I've gotten myself here. Today I felt incredibly homesick. I miss my friends and my family but I'm not going to let that keep me from doing things. I can miss everyone and still enjoy myself. I only have 5 weeks left and I'm not going to waste any of it. So, starting tomorrow, Jill and I are going to see if we can get a refund for our train tickets and then we are going to do a ton of free stuff this weekend before we go have an amazing time in Scotland that will be free of stress.

Thanks for sticking with me on this one. I know I got a little weird and sappy at the end there, but it happens. Well, it's 2am and I feel like a mess so I'm off to bed. Goodnight all!

JessLynn

Class and Sherlock

Today was pretty chill. This morning I had British Life and Culture. We talked about war......and what it's good for. I'm sorry, I had to do it. After class, Becky, Mitch and I went to Pret for some lunch. And I headed back to Metrogate for a bit before heading off to Crime Fiction. Class was good and we got a new book to read over break. That should keep me busy while I'm on the train. After class, Mallory and I watched the 3rd series of Sherlock all the way through and it was very emotional and fantastic. About halfway through we ran out to get some dinner. We got take away from the Italian place on the corner of our street. It was apparently one of Princess Diana's favorite places to eat. We both ate gnocchi and it was delicious. I probably should have been working on my midterms but I still have plenty of time and I'm not too stressed. I also have a lot of time tomorrow that I am devoting completely to writing my essays.

Well that was it. It was a pretty uneventful day but it was a good one.

Oh! I completely forgot to mention the weather! It has been raining like crazy here. And today, it started pouring and there were hurricane force winds on the coast. Walking to class was miserable. Because o f this, there has been a lot of flooding here. London is in the south eastern part of the country so we have been fine but the south and west coasts have been flooded really badly. It hasn't really been too bad for us but Jill and I are travelling this weekend by train and it has the potential to be a disaster. The town in Wales we are going to looks fine but it is on the coast so there is a possibility it could be flooded. We aren't too worried about that. What we are worried about is our travel. We are taking the train to Wales and a lot of the trains have been cancelled because the lines are flooded. Right now, everything looks ok. We have been stressed by our train that gets us back in to London on Monday. It's at 2 am and those odd times are the ones that are getting cancelled. And our plane leaves for Scotland Monday at about 4pm. So, please keep your fingers crossed for us and we will hopefully be alright. If anyone is interested, HERE  is a article by BBC that talks about all of the flooding. (On the map, we start in London and head straight west and a smidge north until we hit ocean)

JessLynn

Harrods

Greetings!!

Today Caitlin and I went to Harrods. It was awesome. It is a giant department store and it has literally everything. It is all so incredibly posh also (like that new lingo?). Everything is very expensive and beautiful. The store has 5 levels and has every product you could imagine. There's clothes, jewelry, cosmetics, a book store, furniture, accessories, real estate, a pharmacy, an airline, a toy shop, several restaurants and finally a pet shop. (The pet shop is actually gone. It closed 2 weeks ago so we just missed it, of course.) There is even a gift shop for the store! It was incredible and words can't really explain how beautiful it was.

Harrods

Harrods

Egyptian Elevators

I was walking in the book store and I found this little gem. I didn't open it but I just imagine that inside it just says "Put a Benedict Cumberbatch in a room and instantly it's English." That's all you need: a tall, very British man and tada!

After Harrods, I had an odd amount of time so I walked around near Foundation House. I walked up a few streets and found myself in a quiet residential area. It was beautiful. I found a lovely little church in the middle of everything.

Christ Church Kensington

Christ Church Kensington

I went to Crime Fiction and then we went to see a show for Theatre. We met early and went to a restaurant called Giraffee for some dinenr. Jill and I shared some food and got smoothies. In our smoothies there were plastic griaffes that we named and kept. They are adorable. After dinner we went and saw "It Just Stopped." The first half of the show was terrible and I really didn't enjoy it. The second half was amazing and I loved it. It was shocking and when the show was finished, I was sitting there with my mouth open. It was absolutely insane. After the show we all headed home and now I am headed for bed. Night all!

JessLynn

Primrose Hill

Today was pretty eventful! More eventful than I thought it was going to be that's for sure.

I had Politics this morning and it was very interesting. We talked about the political powers of the monarch. We learned that her power has diminished but she is still a very important figure in here. After class, Caitlin, Becky and I went to Coco Momo for lunch. It's an adorable restaurant jsut down the road. We had the best waiter I have ever had in my entire life. It was his first day but he was so incredibly nice. He was definitely laying on the charm. he was joking with us and extremely nice. After our meal, Caitlin ordered a coffee and he drew a heart on a piece of paper and left it under her cup. It was adorable. Becky and I had Theatre this afternoon so we sat for a little while until we needed to leave. While we were sitting there I noticed an email from our professor, Brian. He suggested that since today was supposed to be the only sunny day this week that we go on an adventure instead of sitting in the classroom. He wanted us to meet us at a tube station a little while away. Of course, as soon as we got the email the skies open and it began pouring. We got on the tube by the time we reached Swiss Cottage the skies cleared and the sun was shining. We walked from the tube to Primrose Hill. On our way to the park we walked through one of the most expensive parts of the city. We walked right past Jimmy Carr's house. Jimmy Carr is a British comedian that also hosts a yearly show called Big Fat Quiz of the Year. I absolutely love the show and that is how I learned who Jimmy Carr was. I have learned also learned that he has the most ridiculous laugh I have ever heard. I have included a video I found on YouTube for your enjoyment.

We climbed up Primrose Hill (a giant hill in the middle of a park) and had an amazing view of London.

After the park we walked a bit more toward Camden. I have never been to that part of the city and I loved it. I am definitely going to have to go back and explore some more. We all took the tube back and headed back to Metrogate. I've been chilling out and doing work and Jill and I finally booked our day tour in Scotland. I can't believe we start travelling on Friday. It's so exciting!

JessLynn