So today was definitely a busy day.I first started with my journey to Gloucester Road to confirm and discuss my housing options. I finally decided to stay in the same room that I am in just because I am lazy to move and I like the people in my flat. I paid my deposit and have to return back to pay my rent before May 31, 2009. I also have to return to pick up some tokens for laundry.
Next, I took a journey to Great Portland Street to order my International Student House Membership and I headed back to St. James's Park for our EUSA Tour. (I have to return back to the ISH to pick up the membership card tomorrow and to hopefully find some activities to do this weekend - since it is a long weekend with the bank holiday on Monday) Unfortunately, I was a bit late because the tube was slow. There was a strike on the Victoria line today - usually (as I was told) when there are strikes, they usually solve their problems before the strike even happens. But it did happen and it caused a great deal of confusion and congestion.
I finally made it to St. James's Park and fortunately, I was not the only one late. The tour was great and I saw some amazing sights of Westminster Abby, the House of Lords, Covent Garden, Trafalgar Square/Embankment (where my internship is, and Leicester Square is right next door to my internship), Big Ben, St. James's Park, White Hall, St. Paul's Cathedral, Shakespeare’s Globe etc.
We first started at Westminster Abby, which is an amazing Catholic Church. It was beautiful and our tour guide said that the boys choir is just amazing. There is also a statue of Martin Luther King on the Abby as well.
We then headed down toward Parliament and saw the House of Lords and Big Ben.
We walked down White Hall and saw the Cabinet's Office, Building of Defense, and the Prime Minister's residence. Currently, there is alot of negative views toward the MPs because they abused their power to claim various taxes etc. We also saw the original castle for the King too. As we walked down, we saw some Horse Guards and we also went to another place where the Queen will have her parade on the second Saturday in June for her birthday - I plan to attend. I was told where a good place to be during the parade so I can see the Queen.
We also saw St. James's Park - this is where the movie 101 Dalmatians was filmed!
As we continued, we went to Embankment and saw Trafalgar Square. There are not as many pigeons around because it is illegal to feed the pigeons and also on Sundays, they fly a hawk down the street to scare them away. We saw the National Art Museum where 2 of the 13 pieces of Di Vinci is held.
We continued toward Covent Garden and saw where My Fair Lady was filmed. At Covent Garden, there was the Royal Opera House and also many street entertainers as well - including one who was doing a Houdini act - escape from a straight jacket.
We then took a bus ride down to the "city" where the original London was founded - the 1 square block. There is a statue of a dragon that stands guard the entrance of this main city. We passed the pub where Dickens use to sit and write many of his books, and also where he mentions it in many of his books. We also passed the church where the Di Vinci Code was filmed in London.
We finally reached St. Paul's Cathedral - which is absolutely beautiful. See pictures below:
As we continued, we went to Embankment and saw Trafalgar Square. There are not as many pigeons around because it is illegal to feed the pigeons and also on Sundays, they fly a hawk down the street to scare them away. We saw the National Art Museum where 2 of the 13 pieces of Di Vinci is held.
We continued toward Covent Garden and saw where My Fair Lady was filmed. At Covent Garden, there was the Royal Opera House and also many street entertainers as well - including one who was doing a Houdini act - escape from a straight jacket.
We then took a bus ride down to the "city" where the original London was founded - the 1 square block. There is a statue of a dragon that stands guard the entrance of this main city. We passed the pub where Dickens use to sit and write many of his books, and also where he mentions it in many of his books. We also passed the church where the Di Vinci Code was filmed in London.
We finally reached St. Paul's Cathedral - which is absolutely beautiful. See pictures below:
Next, we saw a monument for fire fighters and then we crossed the Wobble Bridge. We got some great shots of London from there - including a picture of the Shakespeare’s Globe - where an American built it a few years ago and it has now entered its 13th season.
We then concluded, I got some roasted peanuts (delicious). We then headed back to the Big Chill for our Welcome Party for EUSA. The congestion on the tube was terrible, but we made it. The food was good - jerk chicken, roasted potatoes, fish, beef, corn on the cob, etc etc. We discussed how the Londoners would call pants trousers and underwear pants - we all confirmed that we will mess it up once during our internship.
On the way home, we stopped at an internship location for a friend in Latimer Road and on the way back, I got a crepe with Nutella and strawberries and cream! I also picked up a map of the buses too in Central London (where I am staying and most of London is). At this point, my feet were exhausted. It was delicious. I went home and then went to Tesco's for toilet paper.
I have a professional development seminar tomorrow in the morning and then who knows what. It's the weekend!
Enjoy!
Cheers!
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