The wackiest week of all

It was certainly quite a week.

Friday I didn't do too much. That night I hit up the Duke of York. Again. Starting to become my regular hang out :)

Saturday we went to Canterbury (like the tales)! Great times. Here's some pictures:


Marlowe Memorial



Me and Phil in Canterbury



High Street in Canterbury



The Cathedral at Canterbury

Great times. My friend Chris and I tried to go to a brewery that was featured on the map (after Phil and I got some wonderful fish and chips, as featured above), but alas, no such brewery existed. We did get to see Marlowe's Memorial (the playwright) and the royal museum of Canterbury. Then we went to a pub for a couple pints. Great beer, micro-brewery stuff. I'm getting spoiled with the great beer over here.

Afterwards, we went on a tour of the Canterbury Cathedral. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the head of the Anglican Church; sort of like a mini-pope. The Cathedral is HUGE. After our tour, we went to an evening prayer service and then home.

Last night we went out to a local bar, the Tiburn I think. OK...cheap, but not great.

Today I did nothing. It was wonderful. I even stayed in and watched Trainspotting. Quality flick.

Tomorrow is Tiger Tiger for lunch (a posh club, but with apparently good lunch specials). Night!

Its been a hard day's night

Wow. It sure has been a long time since I last updated. Things have been pretty crazy around here. Where to start, where to start?

Let's see...Sunday night (has it been that long?), my floor, which consists of 11 guys and 7 girls, had a dinner together in the girls' flat. We had baked ziti, bruschetta, and baked brie (b/c mike is crazy). It was a blast. We had SO much food!

Monday was overall pretty boring during the day. But that night, a whole bunch of us went to Walkabout, an Australian club in a converted church. It was a BLAST. Great dancing, and Mondays, drinks are only a pound! A little dangerous though...

Tuesday I had Crime and Punishment class with O'Boyle agian. A great class. We talked about abortion and baby farming (like a crazy form of adoption) in Victorian London. Who knew that the VIctorian-age English were so open about these things!! So much for them all being super-prudes.

Tuesday night, I made it to SportsCafe for pound pints. A ton of fun. More Americanized than Walkabout, but still nice to hang out with people.

Wednesday I had my econ class. Ugh. Still awful. Wednesday night was fun though. We did nothing. Finally. We stayed in and watched Ice Age (not too bad...hadn't seen it before) and Van Wilder (an instant classic).

Thursday, which is technically yesterday now, I had two classes: Theology and Concert Life. I got a 100% on my first theo quiz (yay!), but Concert Life was boring. The professors (its a husband/wife team) oversimplify things, and it bothers me. But then again, I know way more about music than the average student in the class, so I guess it all works out.

Tonight, Pat, AJ, and I went to see the Phantom of the Opera. It was really great. The Phantom was very well played. Beforehand, we ate at a great Thai place across the street from the theatre, the Blue Lagoon. Surprisingly, the Thai food here is very very good. Weird.

After we got back, we worked out our travel plans for our first break. Rachelle, Liz, Phil, AJ, and I are going to Rome February 18, then travelling to Florence, Venice, and Salzburg, Austria, and returning to London February 27. It is going to be so much fun.

OK, I think I'm pretty much caught up. Take it easy everyone!

Still kickin'

I'm still here, I swear. Can't talk now, but upcoming topics include (drumroll, please):

Our floor dinner Sunday night (yum!)

Walkabout Club Monday night...which was RIDICULOUS

Crime and Punishment class Tuesday, an excellent class

SportsCafe Tuesday night...pound pints...mmm

And anything else that happens today. I promise to get all this up (and more!) by tonight. Cheers.

Picture Picture!

Here's a few pictures, some of which actually prove I'm in London!!

Here's me in Bath


A more generic picture of the Roman Baths


The closest I could get to Stonehenge


And here's Mike, Pat, Me, and Phil enjoying a wonderful dinner


Cheers!

Stonehenge and Bath and one strange musical...

Last night, Pat, Mike, Phil, and I cooked one hell of a dinner. We made our own meat sauce for pasta and also had salad, french bread (complete with oil and vinegar dipping sauce) and wine. Very tasty.

Ok, enough about that. After dinner, we went to see 'Sweeney Todd,' which is the strangest musical I think I've ever seen. Its about a 'demon barber from fleet street' in Victorian London. Not too bad though, and certainly entertaining.

Afterwards we came back and just chilled, since we needed to get up this morning at about 7:00 am.

Because today was our day trip to Stonehenge and Bath! [pictures up tomorrow]. It was very fun, but Stonehenge was incredibly anticlimatic. Its just a bunch of rocks!! But I suppose if you're in England, there's no excuse not to see it. Bath was a blast though. It was really neat to see the hot springs, even if we can't touch them (Romans loved to line things in lead. Kept the water warm, but not so healthy for human contact).

After that excitement, we came home and made tacos for dinner. Mmm! Very tasty. Phil and I then joined A.J. and Rachelle (two girls from upstairs) for some wine, and then the girls and I (because Phil's a big loser) hit up the Duke of York. I then came back, and after a quick jaunt to McDonalds for a McFlurry with Pat, now plan on going to bed. Speakers' Corner again tomorrow!

Concert Life in the City

I had my last classes of the week today. First up was Theology with Professor Bradshaw . It should be great. He's the kinda of prof that believes b's are 'just too harsh.' Second up was Concert Life, in which we learn about classical concerts, and then attend them throughout the first third of the semester. The class was a little boring (its geared towards people who have no knowledge of classical music), but tonight's concert was fantastic.

It was a pretty walk over to the Festival Hall, which is on the other side of the Thames River. Once there, we were treated to a great overture by Glinka, and then a fantastic concerto by Khachaturian. The pianist was absolutly amazing..it made me jealous. After an intermission during which Molly and I met a lady from St. Mary's whose son was on the London program in 1988 (what a small world!), we enjoyed Dvorak's 9th Symphony, the 'New World Symphony.' Wow. It was stunning.

Afterwards, we all came back to the flats and planned our nights. Most of us don't have class tomorrow, so we managed to convince the few that did (at 9:30 am no less) to come out with us. After a failed attempt to go to Callaghan's (the Karaoke bar...it apparently closes at midnight), Mike, Margaret, Molly, Leslie, Jackie, Emily, and I wound up at the SportsCafe once again. Molly, Margaret and I managed to get our pitcher of Long Island done right this time and that with a sweet Bacardi and Coke got me on the dance floor with everyone else. It was actually a blast. Not too many people, but enough to make it fun. However, we all agreed we need to stop going there...too American. A nice bar, but we can do stuff like that next year. We need a new late night hangout.

But now its bed time. Hopefully I'll be able to rip myself out bed early enough tomorrow to get some shopping and laundry done. And then on Saturday, we're off to Bath and Stonehenge (with plenty of pictures to follow). Night!

Shh! That's Taboo!

OK, so I lied again. I once again didn't make it to the sportscafe last night, but I had a blast nonetheless. After a quick chicken-pot-pie (very tasty), we went across the road the Victory pub. Pretty fun, and cheap tequila shots :). At about 11:00, we came back and a whole bunch of us played Taboo (the board game) in my flat. Wow. Crazy times. After that, our flat became an impromptu dance party/conversation center. Didn't travel far last night, but a sweet night nonetheless.

Tonight was certainly one of the most fun I've had in the city so far. After a quick turkey sandwich for dinner (but don't worry, more will come), six of us (Pat, Phil, Jackie, Emily, Margaret, and I) went to go see the musical 'Chicago.' It was fantastic, although watching Brits try to American accents ranged from 'wow' to hilarity. All in all, a terrific show though. Afterwards, we went to the sportscafe (finally!) and shared a pitcher of long island iced tea. Not the best one I've ever had (too much Coke), but fun times nonetheless. We then made our way back to the flats, where I found Mike (another flatmate) baking cookies. After he already baked two pies last night. The kid's a machine, I swear. But now it is bedtime, since I have two double classes tomorrow and a concert tomorrow night. Night!

Nothing like drinking with professors

I had my second class of the semester today: Crime and Punishment in Victorian London. Very interesting topic that looks to be fleshed out (no pun intended) over the course of the semester. The best part, however, was that our second hour of the class consisted of a walking tour of West End and Smithfield, and then our professor invited us to share a drink with him at a local bar. The conversation was hilarious; professor O'Boyle certainly has some unique views on things...you should ask me about them on IM or in private, as I probably shouldn't share them here lol.

And of all people to be in my class, Pablo Manriquez turns out to be a full-year student here at London. I had no idea, but it sure was great to catch up with him.

So now I sit in the computer labs of the classroom building, since there was really no point in walking the 45 minutes back to the flats just to turn right around and head back the SportsCafe across the street here (which I still haven't been to, much to the disagreement with my away message as of late). So I bid you farewell. Tomorrow should be another great day. One class (Finance) followed possibly by a night out at a show, if we can organize it together. G'night!

Ahh! Class!

Yesterday night was a blast as well. Phil, Pat, Rachel, and I finally made it to Camden Town (a small part of north London) after a hellish bus trip. As it turns out, the bus we got on was the correct line, but the driver ended the trip about 4 stations early since he was off duty then...and we didn't know that. So we ended up walking the last mile or so before we made it to Camden Town. The wait was well worth it though.

Camden Town is like SoHo (for those of you who have been to NYC) on steroids....for those at home, its like North Davidson Street on super steroids and a growth package. It's an artsy, young area with tons of shops and weird, eccletic stores. And apparently, shrooms are legal here. I got nothing. I did, however, manage to pick up a sweet Manchester United (a soccer team here) scarf in the area (which later pissed off our building manager Cliff, who is a huge Chelsea fan hehe).

After exploring the area for a little bit, we made our way over to the London Irish Center where we were to have an ND Londoners' mass and dinner. We arrived about an hour early however, so we stopped for a pint at a local pub. It was neat to see locals in their true form, without a huge group of Americans to influence them. And man, I have never heard people curse like that!

After that, we had a very nice mass and a great dinner of chicken, mushrooms, potatoes, and chili, with a cash bar so we could loosen up...since dancing was next to come. And not just any dancing...traditional English dancing. In the end it was actually a ton of fun... I got to meet new people and get to know some others better, so it worked itself out.

We got back to the flats pretty late, so after talking to some people back home, I called it a night.

Classes started today. I had one (well, two technically. All my classes are back-to-back 1 hour 15 minute sessions). Philosophy and Law was my class for the day, and it was surprisingly very good. The professor seems really nice and the course content is interesting. And the nearly 3 hour long class was even bearable.

The rest of my day was delightfully chill. I got out of class at about 5:00 pm, so I headed back for dinner. Flat 5 (Bill and Sean's flat) was having a dinner, but one of their flatmates was out, so I jumped in :). Pork chops, potatoes, rice, and wine. All for only 2 pounds a person! Great deals abound when you eat in a group.

After dinner I hung out with two of my flatmates, Steve and John, in my own flat. Some people came over and we prepartied for a bit...definitely fun times. Afterwards, Pat and I hit up the Duke of York for a pint and great conversation (isn't that what its all about?), and then back to the flat to watch Rain Man, which I had never actually seen. It was good, although the ending was a little abrupt.

And now its time for bed. Good night readers! Cheers.

Hear ye, hear ye and the Duke of York

[Note: I forgot the other day to mention that my bag did make it here, Friday night. So, much to the appreciation of those around me, I got all fresh clothes back].

Wow. Its been two days already since I've posted.

Yesterday (Saturday) was a great day. We woke up and went to some more oreintation meetings (ugh...), but then had lunch and went on a bus tour of the city. For lunch we had pizza, and I found the courage to try to corn pizza (which is essentially cheese pizza with corn on top). Surprisingly, very good.

The bus tour was loads of fun as well. We saw the Tower Bridge (picured above), Big Ben,Marble Arch, The London Eye (Ferris Wheel),The Parliament Building, St Paul's Catherdral, and the Tower of London.

Defintely a cool trip to see everything. Afterwards, we made some chicken pasta for dinner (yum) and headed over to the casino next to our flats. Surprisingly a very classy place. I ended up down 5 pounds, but it was entertaining. We then went to the Duke of York, which a small pub down the street. Definitely a sweet place though. Great beer and a very chill atmostsphere provided for a fun evening. We finished up the night with some poker (which is lost again...) and finally, sleep.

This morning, Phil (my roomate), our friend Scott, and I went to speaker's corner at Hyde Park. Basically, it is a bunch of crazy people that stand up on boxes and talk about whatever they feel like. Pictures can be found here and here.

Well, I'm off to Camden Town to explore before mass and some stuff with all the ND Londoners. Classes start tomorrow. Bleh.

Longest. Trip. Ever.

This is gonna be a long one, so bear with me. Oh, and pictures will be on the way.

I had the longest trip to London I think ever experienced by anyone, ever. And I don't speak in hyperbole. It all started when I was told not to travel through Chicago [as per my original plans] since it was so backed up, but to instead travel through Dallas to London Gatwick [as opposed to London Heathrow airport where I was originally scheduled]. However, a freak storm hit Dallas right as we were about to land, so were diverted to the Austin, Texas airport, where we sat in the plane for six hours before we finally able to get to Dallas. Needless to say, I missed my flight to London, so American Airlines put me up in a hotel for the night.

The next available flight to London was 6 am from Dallas to Chicago, and then 9:10 am from there to London Heathrow. However, as previously mentioned, my bags were tagged to go to London Gatwick. Fortunately, the lady at the ticket counter was able to reroute my luggage to Heathrow with me (or so I thought...).

The flight went very smoothly. I even got my own row on the 777 airplane, which was awesome. When I got to London, things started to go wrong though. My baggage didn't show up. I was devestated. All my clothing was in my two bags. I was able to get to the flat at about Midnight Thursday night however, and got a decent's night rest.

I woke up at 6:30 Friday morning (remember, I said decent rest, not good sleep), and was able to watch the sun rise from the window in our flat. Gorgeous. I then took a shower and got dressed in clothes that I already worn for two days and went for a walk...on which I bought febreeze at the local grocery store. We then had meetings and orientation all day, and then were released on the town. I had a great dinner consisting of pork chops and pasta home cooked, and then started to loosen up.

I ended up going out tonight with a few friends...Bill, Chris, Zach, Liz, Ed, Belatti, and a girl Belatti had met who was from London, Hannah [side note: very cool girl, and helpful to travel the area with]. We went to a club and had a few drinks and danced a bit. However, at one point, Bill, Chris, and I asked three girls to dance. They refused, on the count that we Americans, and they don't like Americans. That was a bit unnerving and harsh, but it unforunately seems to be a bit of a sentiment of the area. It was a nice walk back though, wich wonderful political conversation, and after some light unpacking and conversations with the flatmates, I sit here typing furiously.

All in all, my London experience has been great so far. We have more meetings tomorrow morning, followed by a bus tour of the city. Classes also start on Monday (more on those as they progress). I'm hoping to meet more people and keep exploring the city. Cheers!

T-Minus...

6 days. Hard to believe my break has gone by so quickly already!

Yesterday was a fun day though. Went up to Asheville, NC to visit the Biltmore Estate (America's largest home). Its always fun to tour around a gigantic house, plus they have a great wine tasting facility set up at their winery. Afterwards Chels and I explored the town...neat little place.

But enough about boring North Carolina. Its almost time for London! I can't wait to get over there. I've been learning how to cook...its coming along, sort of. The weather over there looks gloomy though. Oh well. I'll be in London!

By the way. I didn't buy a Nintendo DS (the games suck) or a Sony PSP (not released state-side until March). So more cash for travelling/pub crawling.