Hello all,
I've been absolutely horrible about blogging lately because frankly, I've been absolutely exhausted. By the time I fall into bed at the end of the night I can barely think, let alone think and type. When we last spoke, I told you that we were going to be off to Winchester. This was a lie! Katie and I woke up really early in the morning to catch our bus to Winchester. We took an expensive cab to the outpost where we were supposed to pick it up...we were in a rush too so the driver charged us a lot more than what we thought it would be. Next, the bus ended up being 30 minutes late so we waited around in the sketchy small room for the bus to arrive....amongst very sassy British people I might add....only to find out that we couldn't in fact board the bus. We hadn't bought our tickets beforehand because a man from the same company (Megabus--->hatred) told us to buy them when we got there because our tickets would be cheaper with student discounts...this AGAIN was a LIE! I am honestly determined that if I could muster up a really good British accent, these people would be nice to me...but seeing as how they hate Americans....they tend to screw me over a great deal (or at least get a jolly good kick out of doing so). Anyhow, Katie and I were flexible and after befriending a very nice British woman, we decided to spontaneously head to England instead. Second point of my blog: TRANSPORTATION IS EXPENSIVE. We spent about 20 pounds getting to England, about 10 to get around the trains, and then the question of food arrived.....either British people don't eat or they are naturally wealthy. For the purpose of my argument, I'm going to settle for a combination of the two. Anyway, once Katie and I got to London we did some exploring. First, we got off at Oxford Circus which is a famous shopping district in London. Catherine and I had scoped it out two weeks ago so I really felt like I knew where I was going! We made the mistake of going into the largest Topshop in the UK....four stories....plus they were having their annual sale so the place was absolutely FILLED TO THE BRIM with people. Katie and I lost each other in the madness for forty five minutes...without service...and surrounded by British bombshells. Madness. Next, we stopped into H&M which was a little more relaxed. Neither of us ended up buying any clothes because we were so overwhelmed from the Topshop experience, however....goodness me. Next, we decided that we wanted to see Parliament...but as we didn't have a map of London, we didn't know where it was so we got off at the Tower Bridge (London Bridge) stop and walked around. First, we looked at a memorial to the Navy, the Tower of London (just from the outside, we're going there tomorrow. Katie is obsessed with Anne Boleyn so I let her have a moment of silence for her), and best of all, we stalked a group of British high schoolers who were dressed up to go to a party on a boat along the Thames. Why is England so cool? I'm hoping that next year, I will be hitting up some boat parties for sure...that is after all what the northeast is known for (just kidding, but maybe I can start a trend). We walked across London Bridge which had an amazing view of the city at sunset. Also, they've added Olympic rings on the bridge if you look up when you're driving underneath which is really neat! My phone unfortunately had run out of battery so I couldn't take a picture, but Katie got a couple that I will upload once they arrive! Afterwards, we continued to walk around the surrounding area for about 45 minutes before we sat down for an absolutely incredible meal at Cote Brasserie. The best part: the restaurant overlooked the Thames! We each got an amazing chicken, potato, and mushroom dish with a side of sparkling white wine to celebrate our cosmopolitan adventures! After heading back into London and showing off our British/French-American accents, we got on a bus back to Oxford and just absolutely passed out for the entirety of the trip back. The next morning, we awoke (yet again) at the crack of dawn....I'm contemplating filing a law suit towards people that make me wake up before 8 am...it's just uncool. Promptly at 8 we got on a coach towards Stratford (again) where we saw both Shakespeare's birth and burial place. Ironically, we started with Shakespeare's burial place...which was incredibly disappointing and modest. I was hoping that the man would've had shrines of his books and flowers all upon his grave, but it was just a very simple display that faced the altar and the stained glass window of the church. The birth place had a performance like one in Disney World with interactive rooms that talked. Although this sounds exciting, the place was so so so so boring and all I could think about was how much I enjoy modern conveniences now! Did you know that the number two cause of death for women during Shakespeare's time was hitting their heads on the fireplace and burning to death? Now you do. Is this information helpful to you in any way? Nope...didn't think so. Next, we went back to the Royal Shakespeare Company to see a performance of Julius Caesar. One thing I really don't like about the RSC is that they are really keen about making all of Shakespeare's works modern. This time, Julius Caesar was based in Africa....which had nothing to do with Rome and it was really hard to understand the actors due to a forced combination of stereotypical African accents in combination with English ones....odd. Also, our tickets were for 1:15, but we got actual tickets saying that we were supposed to come at 7:15 so we got spread out at the 1:15 show into really horrible seats. There was a beam in my face, for example. It didn't matter though because I fell asleep 3 times during the performance...as did everyone else! Cathy, Katie, Matt, and I had gone to a really nice cafe beforehand as we watched people try out to be one of the 100 Shakespeares in the Shakespeare festival in Stratford so that must've tuckered us out. Afterwards, all of us passed out on the bus again due to sleep deprivation. Next, we made dinner and decided that since it was a Saturday, we were going to go "pubbing and clubbing". Naturally, we went back to the King's Arms, the bar where we went with our professors after the really nice meal we had where I ran into David Yates from Westminster and all of his Georgia Tech friends! It was completely random, but David and the five guys he was with joined our group of girls and we all hung out at the pub before all of us went clubbing at the Purple Turtle---the notoriously sketchy pub. They are infamous for their Harry Potter themed shots---Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin! I had a Slytherin which was green apple Bacardi and absinthe before having a strawberry liquor/absinthe second shot called "Brookes" which Jarrod picked out for us. Friends and family, beware of absinthe. There is a reason it is illegal in many countries---80 proof drinks are STRONG people! All of us danced for a little before Cathy and I got sketched out by the creepy older men in the club and decided to drunkenly walk back in the rain together. When we got back we laughed hysterically about nothing and ate some pretzels and nutella. This morning came bright and early as Katie and I woke up to go meet Nicolas, the French pilot we met in the bar for a traditional French breakfast. We ended up going to a place in the covered market to have a croissant and a cafe latte! We spoke French together which was really really really cool, and afterwards we thought that it would be fun to explore Oxford for a little while together. We just sort of walked up and down the streets--ironically looking for a Subway that Nicolas loves (Americans must make him crave fast food or something haha). We stopped into the memorial gardens that our group had been to and experienced a very short and random rain storm. Next, we all went to Starbucks (those Frenchies love their coffee) where we talked about all things French and all things American. French people are just the nicest oh my gosh. I am hands down interning in Paris next summer and living with Katie in a space at the Sorbonne. (Jessie, don't worry we'll work England in together also!!!!). Finally, the three of us went to a hamburger place---(for fans of the pink panther, I have officially heard a French person say the word hamburger!!!!!) where we talked further. Also, I forgot to mention that Nicolas gave us the traditional French hello and goodbye---a kiss on either cheek! I feel so Parisian now :) Now, I'm stalling because I have to read for history and I don't want to....but I need to because the group is thinking about going punting (boating) to a pub to watch the soccer game!!!! I'll upload pictures in the next post! Xoxo :)
E.
