Just Arrived...

Reyn and Hannah outside the National Gallery
Reyn and I at a stop on our first bus tour of the city
had to post this... Big Ben

I'm sitting in my flat on Hogarth Street at the dining room table looking out the window at passing cars and the Enterprise Hotel which is adorned with black iron gates and potted flowers. It is the second day and aside from the lingering jet lag, I feel quite comfortable here. Our flat is huge, I am told, compared to most of the others. There is a spacious sitting room with high ceilings and a bookshelf with the expected collection of travel guides, Shakespeare classics and Jane Austen companions. The two most surprising features of the flat: a chandelier hanging in the main room and a can of chili con carne in the pantry whose old age is revealed by the yellowing label. Reyn and I were happily greeted by a sign on the door to our room. I got top bunk (yes!). We're living with three other girls and supposedly another is on her way. Six girls sharing one bathroom should be interesting. The only real downside of the flat is the loud train right outside our room's window that seems to begin making its rounds early in the morning.

So, let me make a note of how long we were all awake for the first day. Our plane left Chicago at 6 p.m. on Sunday. It was close to an eight hour flight, but with the time switch we got to London at around 10:30 a.m. We then walked to Imperial College's student union where we were served lunch (me: fish 'n chips, Reyn: veggie quiche). Reyn asked the bartender, which if you're paying attention, yes, there is in fact a bartender at the student union because there is in fact a fully stocked bar there, if they had any diet soda. "Diet soda? Whats diiiiet soooda??!" I was glad to be behind Reyn and out of sight of the woman's scary reaction. Reyn responded with a meek stammer and proceeded to ask for water. "Still or sparkling?" I learned quickly that this is a common question in England and water is apparently never free in restaurants. After eating our 'dining hall' meals outside in the cold wind that left us all shivering, we went in for a lecture on safety in the residences. Jet lag had finally hit. The police officer's witty jokes about getting thrown in jail for ten years if caught with drugs, even cannabis or "weed as you Americans like to call it" kept my eyes open but once a wrinkly man started discussing fire drills I could barely keep them from closing. We all stumbled back to the flats (we're split up into two buildings) where Reyn and I napped for an hour before a mandatory fire drill. Since we were up and had to attend the pub crawl in a couple hours, we decided to be productive and get some groceries at Sainsbury's. This was my first official use of the English pound. After a scarfed-down dinner we began the pub crawl at 6 o'clock sharp. Londoners don't stall on starting their Monday-night partying. We went to four pubs including one called Prince-something's where I had my first pint of Timothy Taylor ale followed by The Queens Arms (common theme in pub names?) where I had my first half-pint. The bartender there was a nice 'ol chap who gave us a free taste of this great strawberry ale. The group we were with was very rowdy, especially a collection of kids from Ohio who have been in London for a week already. We ended the big crawl at the Imperial student union once again, except this time it was much more lively and packed with actual students. I tried the evening's popular special called the Snakebite which was a mixture of Foster's beer, cider and some kind of strawberry syrup that dyed the entire drink purple. Reyn thought I was drinking Kool-Aid. It was someone's birthday and everyone started singing "Happy Birthday," and it closed with the entire American side of the room chanting "Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug!" I squirmed with embarrassment for our country's obnoxious tendency to raise vocal volume so tremendously when adding alcohol to the mix. It was 10:30 by the time I decided to walk home with two other girls. We got a bit lost. I crashed as soon as we found the flat at around 11. So, aside from the hour I slept on the plane and the hour I napped before the pub crawl, I had been awake from 9:15 a.m. on Sunday until 11 p.m. on Monday.

Today (Tuesday) it felt amazing to wake up at 8:00 and shower before our bus tour around the city. We had this darling middle-aged frizzy-haired British woman named Trudy lead the tour who was every bit the definition of "cheeky." She kept using words like "brill" and "fab." It was a three-hour drive around London but felt like ten minutes. The city is brimming with beautiful green parks and museums and shops. I know I won't even make a dent in all that there is to see, but I guess that's what makes this place so incredible. We unloaded the bus a few times to take pictures of Big Ben and Westminster Abbey and St. Peters where the classic "Feed the Birds" scene was filmed on its steps in Mary Poppins. We were let off at Piccadilly Circus which is essentially the Times Square of London with bright flashing signs on buildings and high-end stores. London's weather proved to be just as strange and unpredictable as yesterday. There will be warm sunny patches one minute and cool winds followed by rain the next. But the rain here is so different than at home. You can walk without an umbrella because the drops are so small most of the time that it mostly just feels like a mist. And it never lasts for long.