London Calling (1 of 4)

[skroberts]

It's taken a while, but I'm finally getting into the groove of reporting on my trip to London. First off, here is my journal about much of what I did...


-- May 7, 2006 --

The big day is almost here! I'm spending the night with Alex so I don't have to drive to the school in the morning, and I'll likely be here again the night we return. Two-hour drives are not good for the sleepy mind.

Tomorrow morning, more than 70 students and a number of faculty, staff, alumni, and family members will begin travel/study experiences to England. The travel/study experiences are part of the College's Plan, in which students may participate in a travel experience during the junior or senior year with the costs covered by regular tuition and fees, or at greatly reduced rates. Alex and I are part of the "Literary London" class, headed by Dr. Robin Gunther and Jennifer Fremlin. They're both a hoot, so I expect fun. :)


-- May 8, 2006 --

6:30 AM: Gaaah, why is it so early?

2:14 PM: Traveling with Alex, Abby, Donna, and Robyn = woo! When I refer to "we" in this journal, I could be referring to these people, our class group, or the whole travel group.


-- May 9, 2006 --

8:00 AM: They have muffins for breakfast on the plane. Hee! We've finally landed in London. The guy at the Immigration desk kept asking me questions, he said, because he liked hearing my accent. :P

11:00 AM: Our first stop is Windsor. I've been out of the country four times now, and I've gotten sick on three of them. *sigh* Stupid, stupid body.

2:20 PM: OMG. I just saw a taxi or something that had "BSM" written all over it. Alas, I don't think it was the Bonafide Stud Muffin mobile.

Dean Jones snores. Hee.

One of the things I enjoy most about other countries is the differences of roadways and signs. It's the little things about the way of life I find so neat.

I had a "jacket potato" for lunch. Nummy.

4:00 PM: The shower curtain tried to eat me, like in Ireland. :(

Several of us ate dinner at a Thai restaurant. Mmmm.

O-o-o, there's a magazine with free Doctor Who stickers! *yoink*

9:00 PM: Apparently, I was really tired, because I fell asleep in my clothes, and that's just not something I do. Everyone apparently fell out not too long after I did because the next time I awoke, the light was out, so I changed into my PJs and went with it.


-- May 10, 2006 --

7:30 AM: David Tennant is on the cover of a newspaper! Alex and I wanted to snatch it, but we resisted. That didn't stop me from getting my picture taken with it. *g*

8:30 AM: We went on a panoramic tour of London. The teachers forced us to take pictures with guardsmen. Those poor guys, having to deal with all the silly tourists.

We saw Buckingham Palace, toured Westminster Abby, crossed the Millennium Bridge, ogled art in Tate Modern, and got lost on the Tube, all in one day. Woo!

We had lunch at a pub. It was meh.

7:30 PM: We went to the theatre and saw Les Misérables. It was fantastic. I think my favorite part was how they showed a guy falling from a bridge. The bridge was on wires and zoomed upward after he jumped off it. So cool.


-- May 11, 2006 --

6:30 AM: *sporks tour planner for making us get up so early*

10:30 AM: We're in Bath. I toured the Roman Baths, had my picture taken with silver people, and gave Jane Austen bunny ears. *g*

2:00 PM: We're on the bus, and Dr. Lewis has been our tour guide for the day. :)

Some of the alumni who are traveling with us need to learn some manners and use their inside voices. I mean, the students are acting better than they are. *sigh*

There are too many activities scheduled! I want to actually walk around and see the places we visit. I can't see anything on a bus. Oy.

I luff Dr. Lewis! When a girl came up to sit next to him, he said, "Get your hands off of me, you naughty girl," in his lovely British accent. We all giggled. *squeezles him* He needs to always be our guide.

3:30 PM: We went to Salisbury to see the cathedral. Yep, it was cathedral-y.

6:00 PM: We went to Stonehenge and almost got rained out! But we got to go through anyway, even with the thunder and lightning. That made the experience especially cool.

9:30 PM: So late. I'm too tired to even go out for food. I really miss the set meals of the previous trips I've taken, a.k.a. the non-school funded ones. I'm living off bread right now. *tummy growls*


-- May 12, 2006 --

9:00 AM: Took the Tube for, like, ever to get to the Tower of London.

12:15 PM: Went to The Globe Theatre for a tour; the exhibition was interesting. But it'd be nice if the tour director, I don't know, planned for meals!

2:00 PM: Took the Tube forever again to get to the British Museum. Lots of things to see there, not that we actually got to see them because we were rushed through, but there were things there.

4:00 PM: We were going to do other things, but we were freakin' tired and went back to the hotel instead...

ME: OMGsotired.
FEET: *cry*

7:30 PM: Went to see Coriolanus at The Globe. Jonathan Cake is rather pretteh. Also, my life is made. I've seen a real celeb in person: Joseph Marcell a.k.a. Geoffrey from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. *flails*

There was a mouse crawling around on the Tube rails. Cuteness!

Alex and I are writing messages to each other from across the room. Basically, we're IMing. Nice to know old habits don't change. :P

Supposedly, there was a heat wave today. Guess who is from Alabama and wore a long-sleeved shirt. Me! Bless you poor Londoners who ever have to visit the South during summer. *hugs*


-- May 13, 2006 --

12:30 AM: Alex's birthday! Woot. :)

12:00 PM: We took a train to Canterbury and wandered around the city a bit before we went to the cathedral. There was a choir service, and it was most awesome.

9:30 PM: We missed Doctor Who, dang it. :( Alex, Donna, and I went to Pizza Hut to cheer ourselves up. Cheesecake and free refills! Gosh, I miss refills and large glasses.

We talked with Dr. Lewis a bit back at the hotel. That man loves to talk, but I don't mind too much. :)


-- May 14, 2006 --

9:30 AM: London's wake-up call: sirens. But hey, it's a free day!

11:00 AM: We went to Drury Lane. Do you know the Muffin Man? I do! :P

We went to Forbidden Planet and squeed at all the fandom pretties. Thanks for telling me about the place, stabbim. lonelybrit, we didn't get a chance to see the places you suggested, but I looked for them on the map! Hopefully, we'll find them next time we're here. *g*

We went to King's Cross Station and made people take pictures of us being dorks at Platform 9 3/4. Went to Eccleston Street just because we liked the name. :D We finally found the Old Bailey and did more dorky things.

6:00 PM: I'm so tired, but I'm pleased with the day so far. Free days rock.

We had dinner at an Indian restaurant, and it was rather tasty. Later, we went to the London Eye, but it was closed, so we tried to take silly pictures. Alas, the lighting or lack thereof thwarted us! Sadness.


-- May 15, 2006 --

10:30 AM: OMG, there's a statue in the Victoria & Albert Museum that looks like Brent Spiner! Weird.

We briefly visited Hyde Park and then had lunch. I had another jacket potato. Mmmm?

Yikes, we got attacked by tree fuzzies on the way back to the hotel! I was rather ascared. :|

9:00 PM: Is it possible Hugh Laurie is even lovelier on British television, even if it's just in a commercial? *happy sigh*


-- May 16, 2006 --

10:00 AM: We went to Harrod's and looked at all the pretty things we'll never be able to afford. They have a pet store, man! The Corgi puppy and bunnies are so cute. :)

We tried to go on a tour at the BBC, but they were closed due to construction or some such. So, we went to a book store with all the pretty Doctor Who books that were quite pricey. Alas. We also went to The Eye and finally got pictures, but it was raining, so we didn't stay long. So, we went back to the book store and got the Doctor Who books anyway. *g*


-- May 17, 2006 --

7:00 AM: Early start. *grumble, grumble*

Somehow, I poured cereal down my sleeve. *shakes head at self*

Plane rides are boring when you don't sleep through them. Oy.

4:30 PM: We're back in the States! And I think I almost got stopped by Customs because they think I'm a secret terrorist or something...

CUSTOMS GUY: Why are you so quiet? *stares*
ME: Because... I am? *baby seal face*
CUSTOMS GUY: Well, you're back in America now.
ME: *awkwardly takes passport and scampers away*

So, because I'm American, I'm supposed to be loud? *remembers alumni people* Oh, yeah. No wonder much of the world doesn't like us very much. *sigh*

8:00 PM: I love Alex's family. *snuggles them*

10:00 PM: *ded*


-- End Notes --

Our first night...

ALEX, DONNA, and ME: OMGsquee!!1! This magazine has Doctor Who on the cover! With free stickers!! And it's only 95 pence!!!
MAGAZINE: *is yoinked*
ALEX: I'll buy this one since I have money exchanged, and you guys can look for yours later, okay?
DONNA: Sounds like a plan.
ME: Word.
ALEX: *puts magazine on counter and hands money to Cashier Guy*
CASHIER GUY: [Mumble, mumble] back?
ALEX: Say what?
CASHIER GUY: Do you want [mumble] bag?
ALEX: *looks confused*
ME: Oh, is he asking if we want a bag? Hey, Alex--
CASHIER GUY: --Oh, dear, you don't speak English! Do. You. Want. A. *holds up fist and shakes it as if he were shaking something into a sack* BAG?!
REALIZATION: *hits*
ALEX: No, no! We speak English!! Yes, please, I want a bag!

Come on, we'd just spent most of the day on a plane, we weren't quite coherent. For the rest of the trip, we decided if anyone asked us a question, we'd answer ¿Qué?. ;)

At Platform 9 3/4...

ABBY, ALEX, DONNA, and ME: There it is!! Must take pictures now!
DORKINESS: *ensues*
ABBY: Hey, let's see if we can get someone to take a picture of us all. Excuse me, Miss!
RANDOM LADY: *avoids eye-contact and walks faster*
ABBY: Oh, look, someone else. Hello!
OTHER RANDOM LADY: I'm late for the train! *dash*
DONNA: I think they're scared of us.
ABBY: *determinedly grabs some guy* Hi, could you take a picture of us?
RANDOM GUY: Sure! *takes picture*
ABBY, ALEX, DONNA, and ME: Thank you, Random Guy!
ME: We're so not tourists or anything.
ALEX: No, not at all.

I apologize to the people of London we accosted and, well, London in general. *g*

Traveling with Dr. Gunther...

DR. G: *trips on sidewalk and catches herself on Alex and me* I'll be lucky if I make it through this trip alive. Jenn [Fremlin] already had to push me out of the way of a car! I'm just going to stand behind you two. You can be my bodyguards.
ALEX and ME: *proud to serve*
...
ALEX and ME: *stops at crosswalk as the light turns to "no walk"*
DR. G: *keeps walking, forgetting she has bodyguards*
BUS: *barrels down street and barely misses hitting Dr. G*
ME: Doctor Gunther! *puts hands on hips and shakes head* We just saved you a minute ago and now you go and try to kill yourself again!
DR. G: *facepalm*

Thankfully, she did survive the trip. Silly woman.


Pictures will follow sometime soon.

Comments

[drumkings.livejournal.com]

That sounds like a fantastic time! *envy!* When I went I only got to spend three days. O_O;

I apologize to the people of London we accosted and, well, London in general. *g*

Heh. I was the same in London. :D People were like o_O; when I walked up to them to ask them to take pictures.

BUS: *barrels down street and barely misses hitting Dr. G*

Oh god, I had a similar experience, except I was in the bus at the time. The bus driver from hell... he just glared at us and he swerved hard enough to almost through several people from the bus... O_O; He also almost killed a few pedestrians.

Crazy!

I can't wait to see the pics! :D

[skroberts]

The bus drivers actually joke about how many pedestrians they almost hit each day. Crazy indeed!

[tehshroom.livejournal.com]

Oh, goodness, David Tennant on the front cover of a magazine! *snatchsnatch*

And Jonathon Cake is sooo pretty. Only reason I watched the miniseries, Empire.

And what a lucky duck to walk on Eccleston Street. *giggle*

there's a statue in the Victoria & Albert Museum that looks like Brent Spiner! Weird
I am highly amused. :D

For the rest of the trip, we decided if anyone asked us a question, we'd answer ¿Qué?. ;)
Tehe, cheeky gals! :)

Certainly sounds like you had a great time. Next time they need to slow everything down, so you can really experience the trip!

[skroberts]

Oh, goodness, David Tennant on the front cover of a magazine!

Yeah, I spazzed out every time I saw one. I mean, it's not like we can find them here!


I am highly amused.

I figured you'd be. It made me think of you. ;)

[stabbim.livejournal.com]

Thanks for sharing (the first part of) your report with us. You really visited a lot in that short amount of time. I enjoyed Bath a lot, too. Never been to Stonehenge, though. Last time I visited, it was closed due to foot and mouth disease.

Glad to hear you enjoyed Forbidden Planet. They've got tons of pretty stuff to look at, some of it expensive, but occasionally you can get a bargain.

I'm really enjoying season 2 of Doctor Who. Took a a while to get used to David Tennant, but I think he's doing a fine job now.

Which Hugh Laurie commercial did you see?

[skroberts]

Took a while to get used to David Tennant, but I think he's doing a fine job now.

I was wary of him at first, but he's so full of energy, it's hard not to like him. :)


Which Hugh Laurie commercial did you see?

It was for House as part of the lineup on one of the channels. Everyone was against a white background. Pretty, pretty.

[in-purple-skies.livejournal.com]

Hee! I'm from the UK so I see the BSM cars quite regularly and end up with people asking me why I'm smirking at the road.

(It stand for the British School of Motoring, by the way. Much less fun than your acronym. :) )

[skroberts]

It stand for the British School of Motoring, by the way.

I thought I caught that at some point. But yep, not as fun as my BSM. *g*

[faithfulpuppy85.livejournal.com]

You're silly *snuggles*