Some of London's Landmarks

-One of the many elephants situated all over London-it is to raise awareness of endangered Asian elephants-

-Part of the street where all the Broadway Musicals take place-

-The Most Expensive Hotel in London-apparently it was where Michael Jackson stayed preparing for his concert in London.

-View from the London Eye

-British Natural History Museum

-Marble Arch-

-Kensington Palace-

-St.Paul's Basilica-

-Playing with my camera's features and took this picture of Parliament

-The London Eye-

-Where 1/5 of my time in London has been spent-The Tube-

-The building where my internship is located near the residential borough of Hampstead-

-The Hallway-it's smaller than the picture but the apt. complex is in a very great location in London

-My London Apartment-I am all the way at the top on the 12th floor and the view is amazing.-






"All you need is Love"-The Beatles

So many places to see so little time!

I've been in London for about 5 days and I feel like I have been here for more than a week! For the past 5 days I have been able to explore some parts of London. Surprisingly, it has not rained here once!! Yesterday, I went to a panoramic bus tour of London through the CAPA program. My roommates and I were literally the last people to arrive for the tour and got there exactly at 2:00pm. I believe that I woke up at 11:00am that morning..(back to my old summer habits of sleeping in). The night before, 2 of my roommates and I decided to find the location of our internship sites. We left our apartment about 8:00pm and got home around 12:30am. (We did not even finish the tour). I have no idea what possessed me to take the Tube until midnight(time it closes). Fortunately, it made me more aware and situated with the subway lines throughout the city of London. Anyways, the panoramic bus tour was amazing. Our tour guide was very amusing and entertaining. The bus tour had hit me with the realization that there is still sooooo much to see in London! The tour only had one stop and that was at St.Paul's Cathedral. The other tour buses had more than four stops and I was a little disappointed that we had not done that. I guess it's karma for my tardiness. But it helped me plan out what sites to see. Later that night, I went to an Irish Pub/Club called O'Neill's on Picadilly Circus. Picadilly Circus is definitely like New York's Time Square, except Picadilly Circus is way cleaner, the buildings are more amazing to look at, and it seemed a LOT more congested with tourists. Gettting home was a bit scary...at least I learned how to hail a cab in a busy street!

For today, I went to the British Natural History. The building is amazing! We spent a few hours there and I still did not go to every part of the museum. I doubt I will go back to see more of it. I like art museums better. Then, I went to London's Chinatown which I did not even know existed. It seems that every major city in the world has a Chinatown. I stumbled upon Chinatown the night before when I went to O'Neills. I am definitely going there to buy food tomorrow!

London has been amazing so far and I always feel completely exhausted after the end of the day. There has been two people that have stopped my roommates and I to ask if we are American. I need to blend in and become a true Londoner within the next 6 weeks. Carrying around a camera and speaking very loud on the Tube probably give it away. Speaking of the Tube, I now know why most Londoners complain about the subway system here. In general, it is a very very good transportation option and it is sooooo much better than NYC subway line. Give me a couple of weeks..I will start complaining about the transportation. Tomorrow is the first day of CAPA classes and I also have my internship interview. I am hoping that classes and my internship will not take over my life while I am here. I am planning on going to the red carpet premiere of Sex and the City 2 on Leicester Square this Thursday, hitting up Oxford Street and Harrods and walking through Hyde Park. I've past by the last three places so many times through the red double decker bus and have not yet set foot on those streets. If you have read this far...you are amazing <3

"Please move all baggage away from the doors (Pause..) Please move ALL belongings away from the doors (Pause...) This is a personal message to the man in the brown suit wearing glasses at the rear of the train - put the pie down, four-eyes, and move your bloody golf clubs away from the door before I come down there and shove them up your #@&%! - sideways."-Tube Driver on the London Underground

10 facts about London that I've learned so far:
1. EVERYONE either drives a Mercedes Benz, BMW, or Lexus with your occasional Toyota, Bentley, and Ferrari.
2. It's really really really clean compared to New York.
3. Has the nicest McDonald's restaurant.
4. The British's love for tea is an understatement.
5. Conditions of the weather are always at extremes and are very sporadic.
6. Drivers are aggressive and pedestrians are brave.
7. Almost everyone in the Tube (subway) are quiet and keep to themselves by reading the daily newspaper.
8. There is always some kind of construction work happening.
9. You have to pay 1 British pound to use the toilet at Harrod's!
10. The sun rises around 4am and it is already bright by 6am.

The following pictures are of Kensington.

-Somewhere in Kensington-


-Kensington Gardens-



-Kensington Palace-


-Kensington Gardens-


-Kensington Gardens-


- Kensington Residential Homes-



-Tea Time at Regent Hotel-

The first two days in London

I arrived around 12:15pm at Heathrow Airport and met up with another CAPA student on the way to our apartments. My flight was about 8 hours from Atlanta. It wasn't as nerve wracking as I remember long flights to be. It certainly was not as bad as the thirteen hour flight to the Philippines. I thought carrying my luggage from the baggage reclaim area and going through customs were going to be a pain. Surprisingly, it went very smoothly. I arrived at my Flat in central London and my neighborhood is predominantly occupied by Middle Eastern Londoners and I have eaten chicken kebabs, hummus, and baklava for the past two days. I'm not a picky eater and all of the food that I have tasted are amazing and delicious. The apartment is pretty small, but the location is beyond amazing. Minutes walk from Oxford Street and Hyde Park. The famous shopping center Harrod's is pretty close by as well. The architecture and the buildings of London are just breathtaking to look at. I rode on the London subway for the first time, which is called the Tube. It will be my mode of transportation going to my classes and my internship which is located in Kensington Street (equivalent to the Upper East Side) and Haverstock Hill respectively. I am confident that I figured out the best way to get to my internship through the Tube and I will occasionally take the red double decker bus as well. We will see what happens... Crossing the street in London is probably one of the scariest things I have done so far. Sometimes there will be signs that show that pedestrians are allowed to cross the street, then some intersections will not have it. You just have to pay attention to the lights and to oncoming traffic. My safest option is wait to cross the street when everyone else crosses the street. I've already gotten honked and beeped at already. We had orientation today and we also have orientation all day tomorrow as well. I have not yet visited any sites and landmarks of London besides walking through my neighborhood and Kensington Street. The jet lag has made me go into zombie mode for the past two days and it is very hard to stay awake during the day. Fortunately, it is going away and I can actually start to take in and enjoy everything around me. My next blog will all be pictures, because its getting late and I really want to past out right now and I'm too tired to upload pictures. Until then.


"By seeing London, I have seen as much of life as the world can show."
Samuel Johnson

Across the Pond: One week left

I have decided to join the world of blogging in order to preserve the memories and photos that I will have this summer. I will be spending 6 weeks in London through the CAPA International Education Program. Words cannot express how excited I am to be able to have this once in a life time experience. I will be taking a class in European politics as well as interning with a non-profit organization called Tender that promotes women empowerment. I feel very overwhelmed right now, mostly because of packing. I've managed to fit almost all of my clothes into one big luggage. My plan on fitting everything else in a medium size luggage is not working so well. I know I will inevitably resort to using 2 big luggages plus a big carry on bag. Being a Florida girl, 60 degree weather equates to winter. I have decided to pack quite a few light sweaters since London's average temperature during the month of May-July is about 60 degrees Fahrenheit and a lot of summer clothes just in case it gets "hot." I guess it's better to overpack than to underpack. I just received information where I will be staying in London. The picture below is a glimpse of the surrounding areas of my London apartment in central London within Westminster.




“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine