Pictures!

Pictures from my adventures over the last week!The lawn of King's College in Cambridge, England.

A view of the canal...
Me at the Roman Bath in... you guessed it, Bath, England.
A henge made of stone!
AND the most important picture of them all! This was taken right before the drunk guys in the background started obsessing over Kristi's boots.

5 things that are most different in the UK

I realize I haven't posted in a while (been really busy, I promise!), but I thought I'd start off the blog spamming with a little list of things I find really weird and different in the UK.

1. the paper here is bigger than paper in the US--- notebook paper, printer paper, etc. etc.

2. light switches turn on the opposite way--- you have to push a light switch down to turn something on, rather than up

-also, plugs have switches to turn the electricity on

3. they don't refrigerate eggs in the grocery store--- I hope that this means they're farm fresh and arrived at the grocery store that day, but it still bothers me

4. even escalators are on the left--- not sure if I've mentioned this before, but EVERYTHING is on the left... cars, trains, escalators, walkways, etc. etc.

-interestingly enough, people don't escaleft--- they still stand on the right

AND THE NUMBER ONE THING!!! DRUM ROLL!!!

5. THEY HAVE SHRIMP-FLAVORING CHIPS! WTF?!?!?!?

-I really don't want to eat a bag of 'Prawn Cocktail Chips'. No thank you.

-they also have flavors like Mexican Chili and Cheddar & Onion. YUM?

Even more pictures!

Trafalgar Square! The exposure on this is a little wonky...
The bullet, the gherkin, call it what you will.
Leadenhall Market... supposedly the inspiration for Diagon Alley.
The Tower of London, seen from across the river.

More photos!

This is kind of in backwards order, but oh well.

The Lloyds of London building... very futuristic. Almost looks like it was made out of industrial kitchen appliances.

The view of the Jubilee park and square from the London Eye. All of my other pictures were absolute rubbish. Apparently, my camera flash can't light up the entire city at night. Who knew?

Tower Bridge at night. We're about to embark on our lovely cruise along the Thames.

The craziness that is Portobello market. This picture doesn't accurately convey how many people were there.

My very first fish and chips of the trip! It was very tasty... even the mushy peas were good!

Eat Fresh, Part Deux

The £1.99 footlong is a lie.

Oh, and Italian BMTs taste so much better in the states.

So much to do, so little time...

SO, I'm sorry that I haven't posted in a while. Not my fault! Really!

I've just been incredibly busy. Over the last week I've been popping around London, running errands and seeing the sights. Highlights include a trip to Portobello Market (commonly known as Notting Hill), a new exhibit on Moctezuma at the British Museum, multiple trips to the madness that is Oxford Street, a river trip along the Thames (from the Tower of London, up to Big Ben, down to the O2 dome, and back), a walk to Mom's old stomping grounds at St. Thomas' hospital, a trip on the London Eye, a pub walk along the Southbank, and a bus tour around London.

I've been meeting a lot of great people while I've been here. Most have been from the General Course (so they're mostly American), but I hope to meet some true Brits once classes and activities start!

I've set up my room, which is nice. I'm in a double, and my roommate is a graduate student from Vietnam. My immediate view out the window is the Travelodge across the street, but if I move to the left I can see a nice scene of north London, including Tottenham Court road and the BBC broadcast tower.

Unfortunately, I have to dash! Meeting some friends so we can go to a Hindu Diwali festival in Trafalgar Square. Will post more soon! Thanks for reading!

Stupid American!

Funny story.

I got some orange juice from Sainsbury's a few days ago, and I just opened it. I looked for the sell-by date, and it said 7-11-09.

I was like, WTF?!?!?!? THIS EXPIRED IN *JULY*?!?!?!?!? AND THEY'RE STILL SELLING IT?!?!?!?!?!

And then I realized... wait... they do the dates differently here. OH.

It expires on the 7th of November.

*smart tourist*. lol.