We arrived around 3:00pm and headed straight to our apartment flat. Yes, I am staying in on the 7th floor of a very nice London apartment! There are three bedrooms (2 small and 1 large), as well as a kitchen, dining room, and small living room. The boys are on the 6th floor, while the professors are taking residence in the apartment beside them. After dropping off our luggage and quickly changing our clothes, we headed into the city! We started our tour with Piccadilly Circus, otherwise known as the “Times Square” of London.
Busy streets, flashing lights, street side demonstrations, shops, singers, ethnic foods, and colorful people—Piccadilly really is a circus! While some of the others stopped to get coffee, Kevin and I found an authentic English teashop and got to taste a variety of different teas. My favorite was the “Summer Peach.” :) After the circus, we headed over to Trafalgar Square. This area of London used to be infested with pigeons. In the past, if a person held up two hands full of birdseed they would soon be covered, head-to-toe, in pigeons! Well, the city of London decided that this was somewhat of a health concern, so they soon took pains to stop the pigeons—beginning with the implementation of a £500 fine for feeding them. And, much like the football stadium in our own, dear Morgantown, London also added the sounds and cries of birds of prey. The only difference between Morgantown and London’s bird removal plan is that in London, they introduced the actual birds of prey—and not just the recordings. Needless to say, the pigeons were reduced substantially.
We ended the evening with a charming dinner at an Indian Restaurant. The Indian food in London is superb. I had a vegetable curry and chicken biryani, not to mention numerous appetizers, such as somosas, curry potatoes, and naan bread.
The highlight of my first day was a ride in a real London Taxi! While the others were planning to go out to get drinks, I decided that I was pretty tired and wanted to get back to the apartment. Since I was still learning my way around the Underground “Tube” system (the British version of the DC Metro and NY Subway), Dr. Stewart decided that I had better take a cab. It was so much fun! The driver gave me a “mini-tour” and I even got to ride by St. James Park and Buckingham Palace. (Check out Facebook for a cab ride video!)
No comments:
Post a Comment