So I have been quite busy the past week. I have barely had time to sleep, let alone find time to blog or anything of that sort. I will try and give you the most comprehensive picture of my last week, but please excuse me if I forgot a few details.
Wednesday 19/3
I had work today. Seems very unassuming, I know, but I got to leave early. Before leaving, I spent a lot of time doing research on the website and I have made some good headway. I hope that I can finish it by the end of my time here.
The reason that I got to leave early was because I had an event that my boss wanted me to go to. It was an event with Urbano. Urbano is a business that deals with networking other businesses to each other. So what I had to do (I say it most begrudgingly [sic]) is to go to the Hard Rock Cafe across from Hyde Park. Now I didn't go to the restaurant part, but rather around the corner. After passing the Hard Rock Cafe Bar, there was an awning leading to a door. I entered and it lead me to the basement, which actually is used for VIP events held at the Hard Rock. They said that they have had guests hosting parties there ranging from Amy Winehouse to The Rolling Stones. There was a bar, booths, tables, and a large screen television.
So what the event was was a networking event. So I got some business cards and just started talking. People were extremely friendly and willing to talk to me, even though I was just an American intern and yadda yadda.... We got two free drinks for showing up and after about 15 minutes, they started making rounds with food. They had amazing food: chicken strips, ciabatta bread with ham or salmon, and the most delicious mini hamburgers. I had my fill of all. I actually met quite a few people and they emailed me over the past few days. Hopefully tomorrow I will have time to get back to them. It was a great experience though, getting to meet a bunch of people, working on my networking skills, and really just enjoying the business life in London.
Thursday 20/3
In case you forgot, Thursday is class day. So I had classes all day, which was quite draining. So at 5:00, I was so excited because the rest of the night I could just put my feet up and relax. Hahaha, no I can never do that. Matt, Leah, and I went to Hoxton Street to grab dinner. We stopped for Pizza, which was so tasty! Also, it only cost 3 Pounds, so no complaints there.
I sent them on their way at 7:00 and made my way to work. I was invited to join the trustees meeting. I didn't participate much, until they asked about all the budget work I have been working on and then I gave them an update about the website. There was a lady there who is not a trustee but she is thinking of becoming one. I ended up walking her to the train station because it is a dodgy area at night and I figured I should. She was originally from California, so that was nice to talk to her a little bit.
Then I went home to bed... Ahhhh still no. I hopped on the bus and headed to Liverpool Street Station. Why you ask? Because I had to pick up two Germans who would spend the weekend with me! Jana and her sister Elena flew in, so I collected them and we went back to my home. Once we met everyone, we set out for a pub around 10:30 with Matt. We got a drink, but it was late, so they kicked us out at 11:20. No worries though. After that, we decided to walk down to the Thames. We took a few photos and walked along the river for a little before walking home. I think we got to bed around 2 or 2:30, which was okay. I let them sleep in my bed for the night so they didn't have to get a room, and I slept on the floor. Which, the biggest problem I have found from sleeping on floors over the past few times I have done it is that I get so cold halfway through the night. No matter though, it all worked out and I survived.
Friday 21/3
After a wonderful night of sleep, we headed out around 9:30 to get breakfast. We stopped at this nice little cafe for some porridge and tea. I took mine with honey and banana. So amazing. After, it was a short walk to the British Museum, where we did a crash course around it, just hitting the cool stuff like mummies, Greek sculptures and 500,000,000 Riechmarks.
After that....hmmm...Ahh! We went back down to the river, to Waterloo Bridge I think. We walked across... hmm... we got to the south side of the river and ended up at a chocolate festival. We ended up getting cookies and authentic French nougat. Unbelievable. Like even better than normal French food. We then walked from the National Theatre, pass the London Eye and across Westminster Bridge, so we could take photos of us in front of Big Ben. Quite a bit of fun that was. We then scooped up a bus to Russel Square so I could drop them off at their hotel and I could start my next adventure.
At 3:00, we had manly tea. Why it was called that was because for our program, we had to go to a legitimate tea party, and 4 out of the 7 students in attendance were guys. Afternoon tea is amazing! First, we got as much tea as we wanted. Great start. The first course in tea is sandwiches. They are normally finger triangles, but for manly tea, we got rolls. Extra point in my book because I love rolls. After having about 4 of them, we were set loose on scones, jam, and clotted cream. I can't explain to you what clotted cream is, but it is quite delicious and I ended up having three scones. Whoops. Along with about a gallon of tea. I am not done though: cake followed the scones. For our cake, we were greeted with a three layer, lemon drizzle cake. I only had one piece of that because I didn't want to be a pig. For the last course, we had four different kinds of brownies. I was more than full by the time we left at 5:00. If you go out for tea, it is usually unlimited everything. They keep bringing you food until you tell them to stop, which never happens here normally with anything. It was a great experience.
I then went back to meet up with the Germans. We took the tube from Kings Cross (where their hotel was) to Leicester Square. We walked around and purchased tickets to a show, which I will tell you about a little bit later in the narrative. Then somehow... I don't quite remember why, but we took the tube to Regent's Park. We walked around for about 20 minutes, trying to get orientated and finally just popped into a pub for dinner. It was amazing. Jana got chicken and mushroom pie, Elena got cottage, and I got bangers and mash. Pub food is just so delicious and warming. It filled us up (even though I didn't need filling up). We then headed back to Kings Cross... I think. Sorry these details are a little fuzzy, we did a lot this day. I left them there around 10:15ish and went back myself to Woburn to hang out with everyone.
Somehow, I got talked into going to a dance club. I am still quite awkward, so I am not sure why I went. I did end up being a good time though. We got in for free because we were wearing college apparel, so a free night is never a bad night. There was a big group of us who went, so that was nice too. We got home about 3:30, and I got to bed around 5:45 because that is usually what happens when you are me. At least I got to sleep in my bed though.
Saturday 22/3
9:45 came quick. I meet the girls at their hotel at 10:15 and we began the day. Saturday was the long day, and I think both of them got quite tired by the end of it. I am trying to think of what we did in the morning. I am going through my Oyster Card history to try and jog my memory.
It says that we went to Oxford Circus. The reason why we did that was to get to Regents Street. Why that was was to go to Hamleys! Hamleys is the toy store of London. It has 6 floors of just toys, along with staff displaying select items and yelling in a British selling fashion. We spent about an hour or so there. After that, we walked to Green Park. We walked through Green Park to Buckingham Palace. So I have finally seen that place. It was actually kind of nice. I got to see a guard too, so that was sweet. I am hoping to take mom to see the changing of the guards. We shall see.
Then we took a bus to Covent Garden. I didn't know that it is actually something amazing. It was a really neat shopping center and market. We grabbed some tea there to warm up and then headed off to Tottenham Court Road.
As mentioned, we bought tickets to the theatre. We got tickets to We Will Rock You. It was a musical written by the band Queen, featuring music by the band. I had lower expectations for this show, but the girls wanted to go, so I mean my hands were tied. It was fantastic! Better than I could have wanted. The tickets were 34 Pounds, and I would say that that was a reasonable price for the quality of the show. So, advice-- go to everything with an open mind and maybe you will have a great time!!
After that we went and grabbed dinner... in Chinatown. It was the first time I was in Chinatown. It is much smaller than the New York version, but still just as intense. We ate at a buffet. It was all right food. Nothing too special, just Chinese. It was the first time I have had Chinese since coming here. Then we started walking home and ended up on Drury Lane. There is a real nice pub we found there about two weeks ago, so we decided to warm up there. I think we stayed for about 2 hours. We went back to Woburn to see what was going on around 10:15. Everyone was pretty much beat, so we just stayed in and played games with some of my friends until about 12:30.
Sunday 24/5
Again, 9:45 came early, even though I did get to bed around 3:00. We took the bus from Kings Cross to London Bridge. There, we took some pictures and then walked over and across Tower Bridge. We actually got some great pictures this morning. We returned on the south side to one of the converted wharfs (I looked it up, it could also be wharves, but I thought people would understand the first) and grabbed some coffee. It was right next to the PwC building. It was lovely warming up with the drinks.
We took the tube from London Bridge Station to Camden Town. Why? Camden Market of course. We explored the market for a solid two hours. Of course, we grabbed lunch too. This time-- Jamaican jerk chicken. Absolutely fantastic! We explored some previously unexplored (by me) stalls in the market. It is a huge market and it was quite enjoyable with those two. Also, I found where Abbey Road is, which is not too far from Camden Market I guess. Just a side note. I haven't seen it yet at least.
We took a bus (that stops at Abbey Road, if you go the other way) down to High Kensington. They shopped at TJ Maxx for a little bit while I headed over to Whole Foods to use their toilet. Then, we walked over to Knightsbridge and to Harrods. We spent about 45 minutes in there. Did you know that Harrods started selling airplanes in 1911. They honestly sell everything. No big deal.
We got dinner somewhere last night... ah yes! We went out and got a Sunday Roast! Both of them got roast beef and when I went up to order, they were out. I ended up with a vegetarian option. But no matter. It was still delicious (and of course I snagged a little bit of theirs). The best part of the meal was definitely dessert. We got chocolate cake with ice cream and hot fudge all over the top. Chocolate is much stronger here, so that was great. It filled me up and made me want to just sleep. However, that was out of the question.
We met Matt at the Swan at 8:30 for a couple drinks. We talked for a while, with Matt leaving a little earlier than we to go skype with his parents. Jana, Elena and I left around 10:30, and I just walked them back to their hotel. I got home around 11:30, where I got caught skyping mom. I think we finished talking to each other at 1:00 (?). It was really nice to talk to her though. Just to get a feel for what has been going on at home lately.
Monday 25/3
The girls wanted to pack, so I didn't meet them until 10:30. Then, we took the tube over to Marble Arch so we could stop at Primark. They shopped until about 12:30. They got a lot of things, and you could see the excitement at every display we saw. I actually enjoyed it, even though I didn't shop, help or offer advice. We then stopped at Forever 21, H&M, and Top Spin. Lunch consisted of a two course meal from Garfunkel's. It was above average. So nothing to complain about. Jana even gave me her leftovers, which will be eaten once this story is finished. We headed back to the hotel around 1:45 to collect their things and head to Liverpool Street Station. There, we grabbed a final cup of tea and said our goodbyes. It was bittersweet, but it was easier because we knew we would see each other in just over a month.
Which, I have about a month left of school here. Time has just flown by. I feel like there is too much for me to see and I just want to see everything. So this month will be crammed with everything and I will be home in two months. Wow.
Once they left at 4:30, I headed home and just laid in bed. Even now, I am completely exhausted. After this, like I said, I will have Jana's leftovers and watch a movie. Just to relax before going back to work tomorrow and starting to get ready for Friday.
IMPORTANT! I want you to go through this again... and know that it has been the coldest here that I have experienced thus far. It snowed Saturday real bad and the wind has been blowing at a solid 10 miles per hour or so. It has just been miserable. So make sure you pack warm when you come. Also, I don't remember the last time I saw the Sun.
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