DAY 1: LONDON SIGHTS
And so it began on Monday morning. My travel buddies Anu and Mina and I found ourselves at the Stockholm airport ready to leave for London. Our choices for breakfast were interesting to say the least. Anu opted for a Magnum ice cream, Mina - some Maltesers and a bag of chips, and me - a ham and cheese roll, cup of juice and some tea. Needless to say, I take breakfast rather seriously and I apparently am one thirsty individual. Waiting at the boarding gate, Anu and I decided to play with our SLR cameras and it was very interesting to see the differences between the Nikon I sported and the Canon that Anu used. Obviously, mine was by far superior! Haha
Arriving in London, it was such a breath of fresh air to be able to understand signs again! It's funny how much we take it for granted, living in a country where we can speak the language. In Sweden, I live constantly on the edge, unsure of what anything says and just making assumptions and hoping for the best. Is this actually normal yoghurt? I dunno, I hope so! Did the train conductor say that the train's are running on time? I hope so! Is this chicken? It looks like chicken so probably.... (turned out it was actually pork ham steak when I later was cooking it and asked a Swedish guy in the kitchen...) Apparently when it comes to meat, I fail. In London though, I felt like I had come back home. Everything was familiar and yet different. In the train station, the signage and maps were similar to the Cityrail ones back in Australia and the advertisements were readable. I could even take the newspapers from the people handing them out and actually read them! AMAZING! Our hostel was situated well and we took the metro to London Bridge.
The metro is a very interesting place! It reminded me of all the dystopic novels and films I've seen where everyone becomes robots shuffling forward in lines. Especially in peak hour, the amount of people in suits spilling in and out of the subway was pretty incredible. Even though a train would come every 2 minutes, it arrived full and only maybe 3-4 people came out and 3-4 shuffled in before the train shot off again. This made it pretty hard for a group of us 14 people in the class to actually stay together whilst shooting all over London to various meeting spots for our lectures and tours. During the peak time, it was impossible to get a photo but here is an escalator with some impressive metal poles which I felt reflected the dystopic feel of the metro.
As we emerged from the metro, we were greeted with a most fantastic sight. SUN! Oh boy - after a long and dreary winter, it was a welcome change - and so after meeting Mina's mate, the four of us took a quick walk around the city making our well to the hostel Anu and I would be staying in.
After checking into the hostel, armed with our cameras - Anu and I went for a quick tour of the sights of London together! Mind, I know nothing about London and we had arrived 30 minutes after the tour our class had taken started so we were on our own but I think we did an alright job!
Big Ben and the pretty cathedral thingy next to it
Yeah it is just on the side of the street. What a crazy sight!
The Big Ben, The London Eye, and The London Tree
I love how you press the button to cross and the WAIT sign appears!
Pretty flowers in a park that is not Hyde Park
OMG A squirrel! I can't believe how close it came to me!
Buckingham Palace - the fluffy head guards must have been sick today
The famous Red London Double Decker Bus
London looks so awesome by night!
Piccadilly Circus - really awesome area by night
Trafalgar Square
London lamp posts are pretty
London seems to be going crazy about a little something called the Olympics! So much construction!
As we headed back to the hostel after our big day of exploring the city, we bump into most of our class mates who were all staying in the same hostel and we decided to go check out Camden. So after a brief rest at a pub and the obligatory beer, we were back on the metro armed with our "Oyster Cards" (weird name, right?) - and we found ourselves in another pub, followed by a jazz club with a live band! Shweet!
Metro hugs rock!
Anu Allison and I celebrate with a beer!
They were actually quite good!
On the metro, you feel obligated to read a newspaper. Everyone does it. Here is some of my class doing this.
DAY 2: OXFORD
We were to meet at Paddington Station where we would take the hour long train ride to Oxford to visit the Internet Institute, listen to some lectures and check out the prestigious area. It was a pretty fun train ride getting to know my class mates! Oxford itself proved to be a pretty fantastic place - so beautiful! I loved the buildings and the streets and later on, the place just turned so Harry Potter and old buildings it was pretty incredible!
Oxford gave us tea and biscuits... we were pretty happy. The lectures were quite intelligent and deep.
Oxford gardens are so English and so green
After the lectures and a walk around the garden, all of us were starving so we went to a pub for Fish & Chips (which everybody was totally fascinated about because it is so "English"). Everyone in the class had Fish and Chips pretty much for most meals! I ended up deciding to follow the crowd and got a plate for myself too, I do love a good "chippy." But I also decided to try something called a Scotch Egg! I had never really known what one was and the bartender explained: "It's a boiled egg, coated in meat and then breadcrumbs and deep-fried. It's really good with Oxford Sauce!" Well then, you know what they say - When In Oxford...
Look how big it was!
Actually, it looks pretty good right? And it tasted DELICIOUS! I could go for one right now.
The pub itself was quite nice. Here is us being very English
Alright, so after that, it was time to explore the crazy buildings of Oxford and it definitely did not disappoint. I really loved it here in Oxford. Everywhere was just amazing buildings and sights. It was quite crazy and people likened it to Rome.
Completely under the spell of such an amazing place, a couple of us decided to hang around Oxford for the rest of the day while the rest of the class took the train home to go shopping at "Primark" - apparently the best shop in the world. We figured we could do that another day - we had all week after all. Instead, we went shopping in Oxford! It was quite fruitful! I found a store I really loved. Why? They had wooden textured sunglasses! Now, you guys all know how much I love wood :P
After that, we had an English afternoon tea or more correctly a Devonshire Tea, with Scones and English Breakfast Tea. I also got a Ginger Beer....man I love that stuff - Scandinavians don't know what this is. Neither did my friends. Crazy! They Loved It!
DAY 3: OXFORD ST - BBC - WICKED!
It was Wednesday now and our class navigated our way to Oxford Circus on the metro bright and early ready to meet our teacher in order to head to the BBC.
Some of our class at Oxford Circus Station
Me trying to be "professional" with my BBC lanyard, also look at my new bright clothes!
I took this photo for Erin and Rachael... apparently it's something about Doctor Who? Lol
On a set in the BBC
Learning how weather women work...my classmate in front of a green screen
In a dressing room where famous people have been
Learning to be a news reader - we made a news program
A game show!
After the BBC, we had a bit of time for lunch and Anu was super keen for some Korean BBQ which was really tasty! I had not had AZN food in a long time!
On our way to Kings Cross Station - the next group meeting spot, Anu, Allison and I decided to go see a musical that night and set about looking for tickets. Wouldn't you believe it! WICKED was showing - the musical I have been wanting to see for ages because everyone has been raving about it. It was, unfortunately, too expensive in Australia but here in London - we were able to get discounted priority seating tickets right near the front for $60! Considering those tickets were worth like $300 - we didn't hesitate! And boy, was it worth it!
But I am jumping ahead, we were meeting at Kings Cross Station in London in order to go to the Guardian Newspaper to listen to a journalist talk about the bugging scandal from Rupert Mudoch's News of the World. This also meant the obligatory touristic photo at Platform Nine and 3/4!
The newly renovated ceiling of King's Cross Station
Dammit Dobby! Entrance Denied!
After the Guardian, my classmates dragged us back to Primark insisting it was a must to shop there. I didn't know what to expect except that it was apparently meant to be like heaven. Haha! Well. It was huge! Filled with everything - clothes, makeup, socks, lingerie, bags, shoes, linen, house things etc - and all for super cheap! London was the place I had decided I would go crazy with shopping. And crazy I did! I might have bought quite a bit. But seriously, everything was really cheap. We are talking $3 for a shirt, $2 stockings, 7 pairs of socks for $2.50 and $8 for really cool shorts with belts! Here is a photo I took back home of all the clothes I got in London. Wooo...... it reminds me of Melbourne! SHOPPING WOOT!
After that, it was a mad rush getting out of the store in time for WICKED! But we made it just in time and seriously, it was the most magical night. The show was just breath taking. Our seats could not have been better. We were stoked beyond words! We were not allowed to take photos but I snuck a few in the break and one at the end... AMAZING THOUGH! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
You'd think after this, the day would be over right? You wish it would be because this blog is getting rather long. Don't worry - I'm getting tired too! But really - there is more! Sure, it was 10:30pm but we had made the resolution to go and see the Tower Bridge by night and get some nice photos! After navigating there on the metro, we took our photos and then ended up walking back home. Just as a side note: the metro is bloody expensive!
DAY 4: REUTERS, SBS AND LAST NIGHT IN LONDON
Thursday began with a classic hot English Breakky! Boy, was I excited. The one thing I was not so pleased about was the "black pudding" - which we discovered was a blood sausage... a sausage made purely of blood. EW EW EW! No thank you! I tried a little bit and yeah, NO.
The black thing on the plate is the blood sausage...
Arriving at Canary Wharf for our next class lecture, Anu being Finnish, felt like a beer. So we joined her - it was 10am. Good Morning Beers are pretty awesome!
At Thomson Reuters, I got my own personalised badge! Shame they didn't let me keep it
This is where the news footage gets collected! So many screens!
Sushi for lunch!
The sushi place had all of them individually wrapped so we could pick what we wanted. This was cool but then made it a little annoying to eat because we had to unwrap them all. I tipped my soy sauce by accident which made for a messy lunch. I also can't help but think of the poor environment!
At SBS, this guy's job is to watch the shows before it airs and make sure everything is OK. Lucky guy!
So we are now down to our final night in London... a lot of our class had already left by now but the remaining ones of us went to a pub for dinner. I had some Bangers and Mash! Mmmm... the others tried such things as a Pie Floater and a Pig's Cheek. After that, we went back to the hostel bar for a chill out.
And that is that! The next morning - I met up with Mina and we took the plane to Copenhagen to meet my mates Kelsey and Manon for a big weekend in Copenhagen! But more on that later. London was a great week! I think it was great because of the company but also because of the weather! It was perfect weather the entire week. And I now stand corrected, London is a great place to go! I will definitely hit that again!
11 comments:
Hi how are you?
I was looking through your blog, and I found it interesting, and inspiring to me, so I thought why not post a comment.
I have blogs also obviously, and would like to invite you to become my blog friend.
I mostly post about the California experience through the perspective of personal writings, and my art.
Maybe you can become my friend, and follow, and I can also follow you, if that is okay.
Well I hope to hear from you soon… :)
Jesse Noe Mendez
Yay! Another blog! And an awesome blog at that! This excursion looked amazing :). So wish I was there with you!
I'm not going to admit how much I LOVED that tardis photo... oh wait... I just did :P. So was that the tardis they use on set? Or an ex-set tardis? Or just some randomly built bbc decoration? Regardless, I think you should have taken a few photos posing WITH the tardis :P
And Wicked was like ... the most wicked musical ever :P. Definately one of my favourites :). Didnt think it was too much more that 60 dollars though. And when you say $60, do you mean like 60 pounds? Cos isnt that like 100 aussie dollars or something anyway lol. I loved the sets and stuff- especially the monkeys!
Thumbs up for the 9 3/4 shot. You've got the pose down-pat!
Man all your photos are so artistic Annie! I think you need to give me some lessons! Pity our trips cross over :(.
Just so you know, I LOVE the long blogs, so you should definitely not feel you need to wrap them up while writing ;). I was sad when this one ended. Totally keen for more :)
I knew you would love London! How amazing is it there!! I fell in love with the metro and the pubs. Doesn't look like you had a roast though which is a shame :( Also don't blame you for eating the blood pudding. I refused to even try it. Bleugh!
It sounds like your excursion was amazing! Sort of wish my uni was cooler now :p
Oxford was 'so Harry Potter' because parts of it were filmed there :)
Looking forward to hearing about Copenhagen. Keep having fun!!
London sounds amazing! I want to go there more than ever now...
And that looks like a cheapo new tardis :( Deeply disappointed. I liked the ones that looked like they were made of wood, not the ones that look plastic ;)
I know this blog was about London, but it reminded me that mostly you are in Sweden. So how goes the learning Swedish? Are you actually learning any? Or mostly not, because your friends aren't Swedish?
Hi Jesse - thanks for writing it's great to hear from you and I'm glad you enjoyed reading my posts. I'll definitely check out your blogs (I'm impressed you upkeep so many!) - I like the focus of the blogs I've looked at so far.. It's so interesting to see the diversity of art styles. You are an artist I take it? I come from a design background so it's always interesting to find art blogs! So cheers - you definitely have a lot of passion which is so great! Keep it up =]
Hey Rach, thanks for the encouragement mate. That really makes my day that you enjoy my blogs, it really spurs me to wanna write more! The tardis photo is one which is personally signed by the current Doctor Who. I dunno if that guy is someone you and Erin like though. I'm sorry Erin that it is a plastic one and not wooden :P I didn't know there were diff ones. But heck! I tried. And no... I really didn't want a photo with a tardis when I've never seen the show! It just feels wrong you know?
Wicked was amazing yes! It cost 60bucks Australian. I still convert basically everything here, including Swedish krona into Aus money - it's so much easier. For the tickets we got, they are usually more expensive. We were in the priority front area which was so so cool! Lol the monkeys were awesome! I loved it when the green witch was flying and it was all crazy special effects! Anyway - I'm going to write my blog on Copenhagen shortly.. it won't be as detailed unfortunately but hey we will see!
Hi Katie! So good to hear from ya! Yes - you are right. Why are you so right. London was so cool! I'm not sure though.. the metro is just so busy! It's nuts. The pubs are great though. Yeah I kept saying I wanted a roast but unfortunately it just never happened. Maybe we can make one when I'm back in Aus? and oMG! I totally didn't know sections of HARRY POTTER were filmed in Oxford. That makes so much sense. You visited Oxford too didn't you? I bet it's cool seeing my experience of London and comparing it to yours!
Aw Erin! You guys are going to have the best time in London - I have no doubt. Except for the whole it'llbe even more crazy busy than now cause of the Olympics. But hey! It will be exciting that is for sure. nice to mix that with the tranquillity of Norway me thinks. Oh man! I AM in Sweden! You are right... sometimes I forget. I'm not joking. But yes, it does kinda blow my mind every now and then. sweden. Huh. I am taking Swedish class... well I was. I can say some stuff. But quite basic....
"Hej, ja heter Annie. Ja bor po Sernanders Vag i Flogsta. Dushar!" I said hi im annie, I live in Sernanders Vag in Flogsta. SHOWER!
lol anyway - I probably will drop Swedish. I have too much on my plate to keep it up and I'm actually stupidly bad at it.. if the above example didn't show that :P But yeah we take swedish class twice a week...
Wow lol. Swedish is like norwegian. Hei. Jeg heter Rachael. Jeg bor i Towradgi. :). Mari's also taught me more useful things (not) like "I have diarohea" and "will you marry me" and "you are an asshole". Which Aleta likes to put together in one whole paragraph :P. I've actually forgotten those ones because im trying to learn the more useful sentences lol.
I've never seen a normal sized tardis (that wasnt on the show or behind the scenes stuff). So though wood would be definitely cooler, I still think its pretty cool :)
Wow Rachael! I'm impressed by your norwegian! I sometimes talk to my Norwegian friend in Swedish and we understand each other. It's quite similar!!!!!
And lol any tardis is a good tardis. END OF DISCUSSION ;)
What about the Master's TARDIS? That's one bad tardis. Well, a confused tardis. Well, a tardis that is being misused...
Sorry this has taken so long mate! I knew it would be amazing (just like I said London would be- even if you didn't go to the NH museum!!), I'm so glad you had a good time. London looks great, I always thought it was super super busy though? You said the metro was busy....like the Tokyo subway maybe, without the guys with white gloves? It's great that you had good weather, I can imagine how much you would have complained if your trip had been crap because it was raining all the time haha.
Ok so now I'm just going to do the thing where I write stuff as I think of it because I have heaps to say... I LOVE your bright clothes! I would never have put orange skinnys with an aqua stripey top but you completely rocked it!
I am now going to publish this because I'm on my phone and it keeps freezing and I'm worried I'll write heaps and not be able to publish it. You're going to get so many comments!
Don't you love how I'm keeping you updated with everything that I'm doing???
So what else!
I love your photos, especially the first one (I think I raved about it to you on Skype already) and the platform 9 and 3/4 one. I went to the Harry Potter exhibition at the powerhouse museum the other day, it was amazing but that's another story. I've never had a scotch egg, I always thought it was a cool idea but the ones I've seen here look dodgy. The one you had looked great! What's Oxford sauce? It's really cool that you got to see another side of England in Oxford and not just the city, Oxford looks so nice! I've been toying with the idea of looking into going on exchange there, but don't tell anyone..... :P what else.... Oh yeah, clothes! That's so cheap! Is it like that mostly in London or just that one shop? It's sad you didn't see beefeaters. I definitely approve of all the British pub-dom though. Oh and the tardis! Where was it? Just in the street or a shop? And seeing the inside of the bbc and sbs was cool, you see stuff like that in movies but I always thought the reality would be different. And you got to see wicked, that's....wicked!!! I've heard about getting the good show tickets cheap, sounds perfect for uni students and in your pictures the theatre didn't look too full?
Ha thanks for your 2 long and awesome comments elira! Great to hear from you :)
Yes yes yes, ok London is great lalala. Haha oh the subways were busy but not like Japan style. I think here people don't bother about pushing themselves in, they just stand there and keep waiting. It's highly inefficient and we were not getting anywhere in peak hour as noone could get on any of the metros which arrived every 2 mins as they were all full!!!!
Thanks! I'm glad you like my bright clothes! I was a little iffy about the outfit myself but if you say you like it! ha... I'm trying to add some more colour to my wardrobe! I'll come back to Aus as the most colourful person you'v ever met! ...maybe.
Yayyy for the harry potter museum! That's cool you got to go to that - I think everyone else went just before I left to Europe and they said it was fairly small! Alex got me a harry potter scarf from it. Did you get any merch?
Scotch eggs are SO GOOD! I bet ones in Aus are not though. I wouldn't even trust myself to make one. Maybe you should totally COMPLETELY do an exchange in London and have one then! You could do it like Alex did - the 3 month exchange. It is good for you to try :D I recommend it highly! It's character building. and life changing.
Clothes in London I imagine are not so cheap. But in Primark they are! I didn't unfortunately get time to go to the designer stores, only Primark so I can't say but maybe ask Alex or Katie or Jess? What are BEEFEATERS? Oxford Sauce is I dunno.. some sauce you get in Oxford? lol it was tangy, bbq, with a bit of spice. The Tardis was in the BBC silly and it was signed by the current Doctor Who!
WICKED WAS THE BEST! That photo was taken during intermission so most people had left to get drinks or pee ya know?
Post a Comment