Please mind the gap!

The tube is the 'subway' system in London and whenever it approaches its next stop, a british voice comes on the speaker telling everyone to "please mind the gap!" There is a pretty significant gap between the tube train and the platform, and I love when the voice comes on to remind you!

So last time I wrote I was talking about our plans to go to our first pub in London- Anglesea Arms. Well, two nights ago was when we were going to the pub, and we found that particular pub a few blocks away; however, it said '21 and over only.' We were outraged!! We thought we would never be turned away from a place in London because of our age, and we were very disappointed! But we carried on, venturing around South Kensington to find another pub but each one had the same sign- '21 and over only.' So finally we went to a pub, it was '(something) arms'- I forget the name. But even though it still had that sign, we decided we were going to get ourselves some fish and chips. So we all ordered the meal and each got a beer so we could have the authentic experience of this british delicacy. I tried a beer called "Old Speckled Hen" which wasn't bad, but I really wanted to have a "London Pride". I'm not sure the man behind the counter understood what Kelsey and I wanted. The fish and chips was actually very good! Very unhealthy I'm sure, but we all enjoyed it. There were a lot of local people there at that pub, it wasn't a touristy place. However,with our group of 10, it was hard to really talk to anyone else.

After the pub, we went back to our house but then decided we wanted to go back out and try out the outside bar at the Imperial College Student Union. The local college has their own bar which I found to be kind of funny. There were a lot of college-age students there, including a good number of FIE kids (with the program that I am in). The bar's specialty is a drink called "snake bite" which is half beer, half cider with black currant. It was unique but tasted good! And better yet it was only 2 pounds which is pretty much as cheap as things will get. After our Imperial College bar experience, we went back to the house and just relaxed the rest of the night.

Yesterday morning we went to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guard around 10:30 am. We'd been given a suggestion by our bus tour guide to stand by a lamppost in front of the fountain across the plaza from the palace. I have to do some research on how the changing of the guard works because although we were able to see the old guards from Clarence House (where Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry live), the old guards from Buckingham Palace, and new guards entering the palace, we couldn't see a lot of the action behind the gates because there were so many people squeezed against the fence. There were bands playing though which were very good! They played the Pirates of the Caribbean theme song, "You Raise me Up," and another song I didn't know. I love the palace guards' uniforms! The bear-skin caps are so sweet! So we saw that whole process which was neat, and then we actually toured the state rooms of Buckingham Palace, which are the public rooms of the palace. They are only open during August and September when the Queen is traveling elsewhere, and I'm really happy we were able to go inside. The rooms inside are so majestic, it's just incredible! We saw the state dining room, the grand staircase, the ballroom and walked through a number of other rooms. There was also a special display of dresses the Queen has worn to different places she has visited and gifts that she has been given by different countries. The tour included a free-audio tour with a headset that narrated through the different rooms. The tour ended in the Palace Gardens which were also very beautiful. We opted not to see the Queen's Gallery or the Royal Mews (where the horses and carriages are), since it cost extra money and we weren't as interested in seeing them.

Yesterday afternoon I took a very much needed 3 hour nap! Afterwards I was more awake than I probably have been since I got here. I made pasta in the kitchen and hung out with a bunch of the other people on our floor. There are mostly girls on the study abroad program, so I have been spending the majority of my time with other Drexel students- Catey, Jess, Anna, Amy, Kelsey, Lisa, Cassie and Sachi. We haven't had a lot of interaction with other schools because most of our floor is Drexel and our tours were mostly Drexel kids as well. There are also students from American University, Northeastern, U of Florida and a few other schools living in our building though, I believe.

Last night around 10 pm, Cassie, Kelsey, her friend Kelly from Temple, Catey and I went exploring out in the city. We took the tube to Tower Hill, which is where the Tower of London is located. We walked around the tower and along the Thames River, which was spectacular at night. We could see the Tower Bridge and the London Bridge. There was even a cruise ship traveling on the river and we saw the drawbridges go up at the Tower Bridge. We also went over and saw St. Paul's Cathedral which is just enormous and the architecture is incredible. At around 11:45 or so we decided to head back to the house because we have our first day of classes today!

It is 11:56 am here and I have my first day of classes today (international marketing and shakespeare for 3 hours each! ahhh) so I should probably go get a shower and eat breakfast.

P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!! I hope you have a great day and hopefully we'll get a chance to talk later :-)

Cheers!