Independent study...

I've spent the last 10 days touring the UK and Ireland, places I had never been previously. We received 10 days off from school, "fall break" they call it, to travel around where ever we should choose. Myself and two of my good friends, Whitney and Rebecca, decided to take the trip together. After weeks of planning, booking tickets, airfare, hostels, trains, etc. we were off to Stansted, England!

London was an amazing experience. I felt such relief walking off the air plane and realizing that everything was once again in ENGLISH! I have not experienced this for 2 months now, so it was quite a relief to see this. We stayed at Becca's uncle's house in St. Alban's just a 20 minute train ride outside of London. Each day we would take the train into town and stay for the day and just return again to the quiet, quaint town each evening. The first day in London we decided to be a bit adventurous and walk the Millennium Mile. We began at the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben and headed toward the London Eye. It was a bit of a dreary, foggy day in London, imagine that, so we decided not to go up the London Eye. We continued along the water front passing various museums, exhibits, store fronts, restaurants, and the occasional group of teen agers skate boarding and goofing around in graffiti covered skate parks. The next stop we made was the Tate Modern Museum... which was very interesting considering it used to be an old power plant before it was a museum. It had a very industrial aura about it as you can imagine, which set the mood perfectly for modern art exhibits. We spent a few hours in there before heading over Millennium Bridge toward St. Paul's Cathedral. So we sketching around the cathedral, drawing Daniel Libeskind's London welcome center across from the Cathedral. 

After our busy and eventful day of sight seeing, we decided to call it a night and have a bite to eat at a pub with two of our friends that were also in London for the trip, Adrian and Max. Found my new favorite type of drink- introduced to me by Becca's uncle John.... Magner's Pear cider... Irish drink! So good. 

The following day consisted of Serpentine Gallery at Hyde Park. A gorgeous and stunning afternoon in the park where a race was taking place. Thank you Lord for the beautiful weather. The pavilion was interesting- designed by Architect Jean Nouvel for the 2010 competition. 

Next we went to the Natural History Museum, the British Museum, and then Harrod's. What's a trip to London without a trip to Harrod's? I'm not sure, but I had never been so I had to see what it was like! Then off the a outdoor Market, which was more down my poor student budget than Harrod's! After this it was back on the underground to Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace before the sun set. 

British Museum--Serpentine Gallery, Jean Nouvel

Houses of Parliament/Big Beg

Our last day in London was spent in the Tower of London and London Bridge which we spent a long time touring. It was fascinating because I didn't really know what to expect. The bridge was spectacular.. the industrial contrast of the blue and red steel beams next to the older castle-like tower. One of my favorite things in London. Of course we didn't get to see everything our hearts desired, but that is just all the more reason to go back again another day! We finished off with an early night in St. Alban's pub.. ham, egg, and chips with a pint of Heineken. Then off to the airport the next morning to head to Ireland!