Hello to all, and I send my most sincere apologies for the lack of activity on the ol' blog as of late. Things have been wildy hectic since I arrived in the U.K., but finally have settled down to the point that I can sit down and get to work. If you haven't done so, check out my pictures on Facebook; more will be arriving soon.
Now, allow me to let you in on this wonderous expedition I have experienced for the past six days! I had a layover in Atlanta and Boston on Thursday previous to my flight over. The flight went good, except six and a half hours in the same spot tends to get a bit uncomfortable. Upon arrival, customs was the first stop. The agent asked what my plans were, in which I replied studying literature at Oxford. "What type of literature," he said. Romanticism and Modernism was my reply, followed by "you know, real good stuff." He finished with "if thats what you think."
Didn't have to wait on the baggage, so I was able to hop the tube (subway) rather quickly. On the contrary, the tube ride was not the quickest. It took around an hour and twenty minutes to reach my destination: Piccadilly Circle. As unreal as anything I have ever seen, the surroundings were magnificent. This seemed like Britain's answer to Time Sqare, but there was nowhere else I would have wanted to be. The hostel was fairly easy to find, but couldn't check in until one in the afternoon, and it was only nine-thirty. I found a free London walking tour in the main office of the hostel, and it was leaving in ten minutes...why wouldn't I? I met Daniel, an Arizona State student, on the tour and we ended up spending most of my time in London together. On the tour, I was lucky enough to encounter the London war memorial, Buckingham Palace, complete with the overwhelming intensity and elaboration of the changing of the guard, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Houses of Parliament and Commons, among many other sights. I feel I could have left at the end of the day and already be completely satisfied with the trip!
The tour totalled two and a half hours, and ended at one-thirty. The only problem was that I had not checked in yet, and I had tea time at three, having no inkling as to where it was taking place, other than it was named the "Dartmouth House." I was able to check in, shower, throw my suit on, and dash down the road in the general direction. I found it with fifteen to spare, and met three people around my age from Louisville who would be attending Exeter with me. We chatted over tea, all feeling completely out of place, but we made it through. I was fortunate enough to meet the director of foreign relations of Oxford University as well as the associate director of the Globe Theatre!
Arriving back at the hostel, Daniel and I signed up for the pub crawl sponsored by the hostel and had a great night of party and libations, besides having to run from an Australian girl while she went to the restroom. Also, I was able to meet my roommates before leaving for the pubs, three girls on vacation from Austria. They were very nice and extremely quiet, turning down offers to tag along with Daniel and I.
The second day, Daniel and I took off for an adventure that would prove to be some of my favorite times in London. First, we caught the tube to the British Science Museum, seeing many reconstructed dinosaur bones and interesting artifacts. It was not my favorite, to tell you the truth, but the next leg of the journey is definitely up there. From there, we hopped the tube again and headed to Saint John'es Wood. What is here, you ask? Not much.....except for ABBEY FREAKING ROAD!!!!!! Walking the crosswalk felt like I had ascended into the heavens. Many pictures were taken, and many opportunities to get hit by large buses were prevalent also. I felt like jumping on the car hoods of honking passersby, shaking my fist, and asking if they knew the extent of overwhelming bliss and enjoyment we Beatles fans were experiencing at this point, but the idea of finding myself in a foreign prison held me back.
From here, we hopped the tube, headed to King's Cross stop (yes, where Harry Potter hops the nine and three-quarters rail) and walked into the British Library. This was another favorite for me, as I so luckily viewed such handwritten items as (all in their originality) Handel's "Messiah," Mozart's marriage license, Beethoven's tuning fork, The Beatles "Help!," "Yesterday," "Ticket to Ride," "Hard Day's Night," (written on the back of son Julian's second birthday card) and "Michelle" lyrics! The list goes on: Da Vinci's manuscript notebook, The Gospel of John fragments, which date back to the third century, THE MAGNA CARTA, complete with tempurature and humidity detection in the case, Shakespeare's "Henry IV," among soooo many other treasures.
The night began with yet another pub crawl, in which Daniel and I met up with two guys from New Zealand, hopped a couple clubs, and then were told that a third was being added to the repertoire at 2 in the morning. We naturally headed that direction, and found out the the club did not close until 8 a.m. The music was far better here than any of the rest and the New Zealanders were hilarious, so we didn't get out of there until about 5:30 that morning. Heading back, the streets of London did not particularly smell the best, due to partiers relieving themselves on the sidewalks during the wee (no pun intended) hours of the morning. I finally got to bed at 6, woke up at 9:30, and checked out. To the train station I did go, where I somehow caught my train (the city is HUGE and the tube-to-station journey is very confusing) to Oxford. Unbelievably, as I climbed aboard, stashing my luggage, I look to my right and there are the three Kentuckians whom I met at the tea party! I had a seat with them, and off to Oxford we did go!
This concludes the journey at this point, but I have lots more to tell and will have some incredible stories I'm sure when I return to Oxford after this weekend. If you do not here from me, I will be in Liverpool, doing my Beatles thing again with two friends I have met here at Exeter! Cheerio and thanks heaps (an Australian phrase I have learned here) for following!
P.S. I tried adding photos to this blog, but Oxford University apparently will not allow me, (at least that is what it tells me) so just go to my Facebook page and check em out!
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