sshhh!!! I'm home...

Well I'm home and somewhat unpacked.

Was a long day yesterday - had to drop off the rental car at 10am at Heathrow. My flight to Seattle was at 1pm, landing at 2:30 pm Seattle time. I didn't have any seat-mates so it was actually a nice flight. Pretty brutal though as I was totally awake the entire time. Fortunately the movie system worked so I watched 4 movies on the flight and read my book for the rest.

At Seattle I tried to get on an earlier flight home but had no luck at it, so had a 4.5 hour layover (yes, I could have driven home faster than flying).

Eventually at 9pm I got home to see Owen's smiling face at the arrivals lounge. Man was I happy to be home!!!

Now I shall shrink into obscurity and hopefully come out of exams happily. Until next time... Toodles!!!

castles and motor ways

Today was a long day! I was up and leaving Charlene's place at 9:30am after all the mad packing etc. My first stop was Pontefract Castle - one of the most important castles in English history. Like most castles in the UK, it was torn down after the civil war so its pretty much just ruins but it was really nice to be there. Its a 'Gaunt-place' for me, and where Richard II died/was murdered.

Then I headed toward Lincoln, one of my favorite places. I stopped at Kettlethorpe, the home of Katherine for many many years (after the gps unit took me on an insane farm road) and then drove into town. The Cathedral is huge!! I've been to Lincoln before, but wow, it just blew me away!! The cathedral is also the home to the tomb of Katherine, so I went and said 'hi' to her, as well as visiting their really unique library - half of it is medieval, the other have more modern - Wren built it.

Anyway, then I drove totally out of my way to Bolingbroke, birthplace of King Henry VI (Gaunt's son)... its so out of the way, no one goes there at all and the locals use it as a dog park. It was lovely and peaceful and still impressive, even though it suffered the same fate as all the other English castles.

Then I had a 3.5 hour drive south to my aunt & uncles place in Maidenhead, close to Heathrow. I'll be spending the night here and hopping on the plane home tomorrow morning.

Hope you've enjoyed this blog!!! Stay tuned for my next adventures (and check Flickr in a few days for the last photos!!!)

About ready to come home.

Got up and ready as usual today, making plans to see a number of places. Ate my Bradford special which is toast and juice for breakfast. Then hopped in the car, looked at the map, plunked in some directions into the GPS and was off.

My first stop was Shipley. I was surprised to discover that it is simply another section of Bradford. The area I went was pedestrian only, but didn’t have any specific characteristics to make it stand out – I’m sure had I been driving through I wouldn’t have considered it being outside Bradford. I didn’t stick around.

Another 5 minutes down the road was Saltaire, a UNESCO world heritage site. It’s a really cute little town, preserved in it’s Victorian state. The basic storey = rich textiles guy Salt wanted to build his own town to run his new factory, so he did. Everything is logical and layed out properly, with straight roads, logical houses and the proper amenities of a large church, very Victorian main hall, a school, and of course the huge textiles mill. The old photographs and drawings really do make it look lovely, particularly as he had a park designed across the river to ensure these Victorians had green time.

The problem is, they aren’t really set up for tourists. I wandered around quite a bit looking for the entrance to the mill, and then for the tourist info center, and was shocked to learn that the info center didn’t exist anymore!! I eventually found the entrance to the mill and was greeted with a large shopping center – the current owners scrapped all the old stuff and used the very valuable space for restaurants, galleries and shops. If I wasn’t so irritated at not finding anything historical I’m sure I would have thought it was cool!! They did have a small room devoted to the history, so I watched their little video. After a mini walk-about I decided it was time to move on.

I then drove to Knaresborough, a hill-top town with pre 1066 origins. Its big draw is two fold. The first (and reason I was there) is the ruins of the castle. It was constructed around 1100, expanded by King John (of Robin Hood fame) and then again by Edward I & II. The reason I was excited about it is John of Gaunt’s mother (Phillipa, Queen of England) really loved it there, so spent many summers up there with her family…. Which means there’s a good chance Katherine was there at some point (I’m obsessed, I know). The castle was destroyed after the Civil War, so not much remains, but it was fun seeing the views and pretending it was the 14th century!

The other draw is the cave of Mother Shipton and the Petrifying Well. Mother Shipton is an old prophetess of quite some fame from Henry VIII’s time – some of her predictions were quite interesting for an old homeless woman (“Iron will float on water like wood”, “Men will ride through the sky”)… What was really cool though was the Petrifying Well. The geology they explained = similar process to stalactites & mites, except running water, forming a ‘shield’ where it ‘waterfalls’ and will petrify any porous object in a matter of months. They had loads hanging mostly teddy bears. Apparently its takes 3 months for a teddy to turn to rock!

I then decided to be brave and do an alternate route home – I routed through Leeds. Well it was rush hour so a very bad idea. I did get to see a chunk of the city, going at 5mph. But I’m glad I went in and I’m proud of my driving!!!

Now I’m packing up my stuff in preparation of a big drive down to the outskirts of London tomorrow and then the big flight home on Wednesday. I have to say I’m starting to feel ready to go home. I don’t want to start the big study but I am feeling the need to breathe some home air.

A day in the North

Woke up to find that my cousin had laid a breakfast for me - so cute!! so ate that and stared at the horrible rain, thinking how ironic it is that I'm in scenic area and the clouds had decended.

Anyway, I hopped into my car and programed my route into the GPS unit and off I went!! First stop way Haworth, the home of the Bronte sisters. I went to their house, saw each of their rooms complete with the original furniture. Right down to clothes and shoes and bonnets, and creepy things like locks of hair.. but still very fun. The town was really sweet - up on a hill and difficult to drive through.

I then got as lost as I could get with a GPS unit - I started driving without it for fun. Drove through the moors for a while to see the sites and got 'yelled' at my a bunch of sheep. creepy!!! Then turned the unit back on and made my way to Skipton. It has a really awesome Medieval castle that is still totally in tact. Lots of fun, and the rain abaited for a while so saw some of the beauty of the town.

Then drove to Bolton Abby. Turns out its a full on park area, so you pay to park and then hike all over the place. Plus its the first river I've seen in the UK that isn't completely walled and set - it was totally wild and beautiful. The abby was really interesting - its mostly in ruins but they've kept part of it in tact for holding services - first time I've come across that.

Then drove on to Ilkley, but as it's sunday, everything was closed. So I did a bit of a walk around but then just drove back to Bradford.

I got home to find the gang heading out to their Church service, so I tagged along to see where Charlene spends much of her life (she works there and takes classes there too). It was a huge room with a 10 piece 'rock' band - about half the service was 'rock' songs (all faith based) and then a service. After we sat around having lemonaid etc...

Now the gang is sitting in the living room waiting to watch a movie, so I'd better go.. more traveling around the countryside tomorrow!

Driving to Bradford!

Driving on the other side is fun!! It was really strange at first but ended up being quite exciting. The only scary part so far was turning right - I cant just slip around the corner! That being said, having a GPS system telling me to 'take the second exit at the roundabout' REALLY helped. Like, fantastic, I never want to drive without one!!

The drive from Cambridge to Bradford took 3 hours through middle-England. Passed by Lincoln and Doncaster - was fun to wave at Lincoln. Bradford is near Leeds and York, and is a very much 'working' town. It used to be a big industrial town, mostly textiles, and it feels like its in the middle of converting from the late 1800-s into the 2000's. Some pretty buildings but also some areas 'in construction'.

After arriving at my cousins and meeting her house mates we went on a drive around Bradford, taking in Lister Park and it's museum as well as driving around the city to find the Cathedral. It turned out to be closed, but we only found that out after walking in, so got to hear their choir belting out some songs.

We went for dinner at Toby's Carvery, a buffet restaurant that piles on the food. I got made fun of by a number of people for saying York-shire (as in Sh-eye-er) instead of Yorkshire ('sure'), which was actually kind of irritating. Anyway...

not sure what the plan is for tonight, probably vegitating and watching a movie. I dont have regular internet access so unfortunately wont be uploading photos anymore - at least not until I get home... sorry!! I'll try keep the blog happening as often as possible.

Now I'm going to go plan out my next 2 days!

Random storm in Cambridge!

Woke up kinda blue today, don't know why. Sun was shining, birds were chirping - all in all it was great! Had breakfast, lazed about for a bit then started the day.

I decided to walk a new way into town, down through the Fens. This is kind of a marshy/boggy/tree area - and it was surprisingly lovely in the early morning light. I took quite a few photos!!

I then went to the Fitzwilliam Museum. Its Cambridge's public museum (many of the colleges/departments/etc have their own private ones). This museum was like a mini British Museum and National Gallery combined. Lots of interesting stuff, most unique being the pottery room. Mom, I saw some early early Toby Jugs!! No photos allowed tho (doh).

Then I walked up to St. Mary's Church and climbed up the tower. As per usual with me, if I can climb it, I will! Its the highest tower in Cambridge so I got some pretty nice views. The funny thing was, when I arrived at the church the sky was blue, when I got to the top of the tower it was starting to get cloudy, and when I got back down again I could tell rain was coming. The wind had really picked up and it was chilly. The timing was perfect though as I had to get back to Selwyn and prep for class. I made it back to my college just before the hail/thunder/lightening hit!

Class was interesting - and a bit sad, as it was the last one, and now I'm back to being my own teacher. I'm serious when I say I won't exist when I get home - I have SO much work to do... sorry in advance!

After class I had the horrible job of packing up my room... and it sure seems like my suitcase shrinks when I'm over here, and I honestly haven't done any shopping! I guess I'm just out of practice with my packing ha ha ha. It seems to be smushed in for now - but no opening it!

After dinner I decided to do another walk just to say bye to the town. And as luck would have it, a gate into town that normally had a person guarding it (to stop people like me using it) was un-guarded! do de do de do.. in I walked! got some great sun-set views of the town... of course it was too good to be true and the groundskeepers found me and kicked me out, but I still got the photos and was cold enough to be happy to come back to Selwyn!!

Tomorrow I hire a car and drive up to Bradford, near Leeds, in central England. I'll be visiting my cousin Charlene and seeing 'Bronte country' (the authors). It's also John of Gaunt territory (Katherine's husband), so I'll do some pilgrimages if I have time!

I don't now what my internet access will be like up there so my blogs may not be as frequent anymore! Toodles for now!!!!

Tackling Cambridge town.

With all the Colleges I visited today, I should be awarded more diplomas and degrees!!

I didn't understand the UK's College system until I got here, so I'm going to assume no one else does either: The University of Cambridge is the educational body which provides the education, awards degrees etc. It's made up of all the faculties and departments and so on. BUT, every student who attends the university (roughly 17,000 now) belong to one of the over 30 different Colleges. These aren't colleges like at home, these are essentially 'houses' or 'companies' or 'families'. The college is where you eat, sleep, study - its your home and you owe allegiance to it (in some cases for life). So the city of Cambridge is has 3 distinct units, all intermixed: laymen's shops, university buildings, and colleges. I am currently residing at Selwyn College, and it was established, built, etc in the Victorian era (mid 1800's). The majority of the famous Cambridge houses (Trinity, Kings, St. Johns etc) were founded in the later Middle Ages - roughly 1400 - 1600. The town has a large history of monasteries so many of the former monasteries have become colleges. Anyway...

The annoying thing about the UK is that everything only opens at 10am. So if you're a keener like me, you are up and fed by 8:30 and killing time... and then tapping your foot outside the tourist info centre when they open the door!

I booked a walking tour for 11:30 am, so had 1.5 hours to explore before it began. I decided to go to a number of Colleges that aren't on the tour. I visited Christ's College and Emmanuel College in as much detail as their renovations would allow (which means I saw their courtyards). I then did a long walk down past Parker's Piece (the namesake of which is also the namesake of the therm 'Nosey-Parker') and then past a bunch of the university buildings like biology, chemestry and exprimental psychology. Walked past Downing College, Pembook College and Corpus Christi College, but all were closed.

The walking tour was hosted by a French-man but in English. The joke is, I had already walked to all the areas he took us too!! It was still worth it though as I learned a lot about the town that I wouldn't have know without researching it more. He took us into Kings College - a Henry VII & VIII feat of wonders. The chapel for that place is insane. Fantastic. lovely. etc.

The tour ended outside Trinity College, so I visited it next - went into the Wren Library and saw original Issac Newton letters and A.A. Milne's copy of Pooh... and then ran around the rest of the college looking at their chapel and main courtyard. After Trinity I went to their big rival, St. John's College. Those two host the largest number of students and have huge contests over which is better - most visibly with their architecture. Ridiculous.

The big thing to stress is that all of these schools are very anti-tourist. You are allowed in the courtyard and the chapel but nowhere else as students are there year round. Makes sense, but still frustrating!

Walked up to a more vibrant part of town which happened to be where the origional Roman bridge crossed the Cam and is also the location of Magdalene College. It was closed so I walked along the river to Jesus College's green (aka big grassy area), and then back down into town via some smaller streets.

I had also booked a punt tour when booking the walking tour, and as it was now getting later in the day I decided it was time. So went down and had the punt to myself!!! And the light was just perfect for photos, so I was a very happy camper. Was on the Cam for 45 minutes and heard a bunch of repeat info, but that didn't matter. Also learned an interesting quirk: King's Bridge, which crosses the Cam at Kings College (for their students only) is a location where you can still legally have a pistol duel!

After the punt ride I found Peterhouse which is the very first College in Cambridge - 800 years old. It has been rebuilt since then so it looked pretty much the same as the rest of the colleges. And by this time it was close to 5, so I couldn't go anywhere else but back to my own college for dinner!!

I hope that wasn't too long for you all! Check out the photos on Flickr if you're interested - link on the right.

up and down day

I'm wiped. And I've still got another 2 hours of classes after dinner. sigh.

I've had a very big 'up and down' day today. Sometimes in class I start feeling alright, mostly by comparing my answers/thoughts/understanding to my fellow students. But then when the prof's are talking I start feeling really down, that there's no way I'll learn this all. Its very depressing.

Most of my classes are over now, although I still have 4 hours of Criminal law split over tonight and friday. The rest are complete and while they were very useful, they've left me wishing I had another few months to prepare instead of 4 weeks (after I get home). They've both inspired me and really scared me. I suppose that was the point.

I didn't make it out into the city today - had classes all day and I'm so tired right now I didn't feel like it. That being said tomorrow is a total day off so I'll be running around Cambridge with my camera trying to get everything in. So hopefully tomorrows blog will be far more exciting!

Sunny and warmer today, finally!

Finally a day that hasn't been freezing! Still chilly, but spring chilly, not winter cold!

Had a poor sleep last night - too much legal stuff in my brain right now. I also know this as I'm joking around with people about limitation and exclusion clauses in a contract for holding open a door. groan.

Today is my second longest day - tomorrow is longer. But today I have every class - so in addition to the ones from yesterday you can add Criminal law. I have that after dinner tonight. Right now I'm on a mini-break before supper.

Again I'm very glad to be here. Just hearing the professors speak about the material is really helping. I have so much to do when I get home but at least now I have some direction! Its pretty awesome that I'm learning from the professors who teach the cambridge students. I have John Hopkins who is the course director and has a bazillion titles under his name about where he's registered and a fellow and a professor ad so on - he teaches Constitutional law. His wife is another professor, she teaches Contract law, and is a barrister and a director of another college here at Cambridge. Then I have the Judge/lecturer for the English legal system, and finally another private professor at Cambridge for Criminal. Pretty humbling in the grand scheme of things - these are the people who turn out the Cambridge grads who generally end up running England (or so they'd have us believe).

At lunch today I didn't mimick my fellow 'moss-growing' students (ha ha thanks SW for that quote), instead I marched around more of the city. I took a different bridge over the Cam today and ended up behind both Kings College and Trinity College, two of Cambridge's oldest. Now remember, we're talking 800 years old, not 40 like SFU!!! The architecture leaves Canadian schools a bit wanting...but I'm sure they'e drafty! I somehow ended up in the middle of the town, right by a market, so decided to have lunch and people watch for a bit. All the proper students are away on their Easter break (5 weeks no less) so the 'real' people of the town are out (or loads of british tourists). I really quite enjoy walking around this town - so many little streets that will take you to cute little areas, but you can never get lost!

Anyhoo I'll be grabbing dinner in a bit and then be back in class from 7 - 9pm, then hitting they hay, to do it all again tomorrow!

Life of a Law Student, Cambridge style

Wake up, do classes from 9am - 6pm, then go get tipsy with the head of the law faculty!
um. yes.. my apologies. I'm writing this on a few glasses of wine.

So yes, I had 6 hours of classes today: Public Law (Constitution), Contract Law and Common Law Reasoning & Institutions (the English legal system)... all of them with very English professors, all very Cambridge. much talk about past students and current Law Lords (funny the coincidience of that....)

I am extremely glad I'm here. The professors are excellent and are giving loads of good exam pointers. I'm still massively worried about exams, but I'm using my free time to try arrange a plan of attack for when I return. Also, the girl I met yesterday from Hong Kong is going to give me a bunch of taped lectures from U of L teachers who have come out to HK for revision sessions. Fingers crossed that actually happens. She's become a fast friend of mine, and its nice to have someone to sit with!

At lunch I took off on my own into the closest part of Cambridge proper I can reach, went to the University Center and found a pie shop to eat. Scoped out a few places I want to visit on my free day. Ran into Cynthia (HK girl) and some others so ate my pie at the restaurant they were eating at (and felt quite good about the 2.50 I'd spent compared to their 10).

After class there was a reception and welcome dinner. The reception was rather awkward, all the students kind of standing around, not sure what to do. The dinner was far better - the wine was flowing and the food kept comming. Also, one of the Cambridge professors came an sat across from me - a fairly young guy, been a professor for 6 years. I asked him all sorts of questions and he seemed to enjoy the anwers, though they were all very british. He actually spoke out of the side of his mouth and fixed his hair every two minutes. Go figure. Anyway, the dinner was very nice, and for those that are interested, I ate mushrooms. Yes, I, Lauren Lynne Elliott, ate mushrooms. I don't know what to say except manners kicked in? (it was gross, for the record). The head of Cambridge Faculty of Law gave us a welcome speach and it was very cute and funny.

Tomorrow is a very long day for me - lectures from 9am - 9pm with a 2 hour break for lunch. I suspect I'll be tired. The rooms are so hot and the lecturer's so monotoned I have struggled a few times to stay awake today: hopefully I can fix this for tomorrow?

Snow in London, Sun in Cambridge

I woke up this morning and glanced out the window and suddenly my jaw dropped. SNOW!! I mean, this is London!! They had some freak snow-storm and the city was white, windy and COLD. Bitter coldness - not the nice kind of snow.

The taxi I'd arranged to go to the coach station showed up 35 minutes early. I guess he was scared of driving in the snow? He said London hasn't had snow in the city for 10 years. curious. Anyway, he took me on a round-about route to the station so I got to see the sights again, this time in snow - Leiscter Square, Trafalgar Square, Whitehall, Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abby, the London Eye etc. This city looks very cold in the snow.

Got to the station 45 minutes early, which was way too early. And they had all the doors open, so it was freeeeeezing. brrr. The pigeons were hiding inside the station to avoid the snow! I hoped onto my bus at just before 10 and we departed, again driving through the city. It took 45 minutes for us to reach the countryside.

It took 1.5 hours to get to Cambridge and I was a bit worried when I arrived as my check-in is only at 2pm... but I grabbed a cab and came to Selwyn College anyway (the Law college) to see if they'd let me check in and they did. So I've been in my room the past few hours unpacking and starting to feel settled. I got pick up my packages in a few minutes and have class for two hours later this afternoon.

The college is about a 10 minute drive from the heart of Cambridge, so thats probably a good 30 minute walk or so. The next few days are pretty 'chockablock' full with classes, but on Thursday I have a free day, so at the very least I'll make it into town on that day.

I'll update this post later tonight to tell you how classes went!


Update: ugh. oye. groan. sigh.

ya, so, I wont exist when I get home, I will be studying 24/7 for the next 5 weeks. I can't describe it better. Today I had a 2 hour lecture with a senior professor from cambridge who also happens to be a barrister AND a judge. And while she was super friendly, the volume of material we covered in 2 hours, and the amount of times she said "oh I'm sure you're familiar with this" and "obviously you need to mention this on the exam" has frightened me immensly. Do not expect me to exist until June.

After class was dinner. Dinner here is set between 6 and 7 (during the week I'll have class from 7 - 9). Its a 'buffet' but they serve you, and seat you, and 'take care' of you. Kinda feel out of my element. Oh, also, there's been no helpful 'welcome to cambridge' stuff. Bascially I arrived and have been expected to know how everything works, first go.

So I'm a bit shell shocked right now. By rights I should be studying the rest of the night. I don't think I will, but other students will be. Oh, speaking of other students, many have the cliques massively formed already. They must have met at London weekends in the past or something, cuz they are really familiar with each other already. A lot of the cliques have formed due to race/home country/ language spoken lines and I am a definite minority. I sat in class and dinner with a nice girl from Hong Kong tho, so maybe she'll be my 'clique'?

Anyway, back to freaking out....

oh, also, I've had to tighten the security on my blog due to spam posts etc, so if you actually want to send me a message, please email.

Another day...

Not much to say about today.

Was at school by 9am and in class or tutorials until 5pm. Had a hilarious british proff for the criminal class - all about sexual offences, and he said 'sexssssual' and other very hilarious things, all stereotypically british. Got a laugh out of a lot of ppl. The other proff was from Canada - BC no less, but has been in the UK for ages, so really only had the accent, nothing else Canadian.

Anyway, after the lectures the rest of the day involved smaller group tutorials. They were pretty much like usual tutorials, right down to the ppl not answering questions or making eye contact with the profs, so I ended up doing a lot of talking, which was anoying cuz I didn't know all the material. Sigh. Whatever, good experience anyway.

Came back to the hotel after class to veg out and pack up my suitcase. Ended up spending a lot of time renaming photos and internetting. Went out for dinner at 8 to another Italian joint. Apparently in London you can only work at an ethnic restaurant if you are from the orginal place. So both italian restaurants Ive been too have only had Italians, the Indian only had Indian, and the sandwhich shop was run by all Eastern Europeans... kinda fun actually.

So yes, not a big day, but still a day. Tomorrow I catch a bus to Cambridge and start that part of the trip.

Feet sore, so is brain.

So, this is what law school is like...um.... uh... AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Woke up, same breakfast, didn't know what to do today... was flipping through my London guidebook and decided to do something I'd never done in London before (and admittedly I'd scorned in the past)... I visited Madame Tussauds. It is fairly close to my hotel in the London scheme of things, so I hiked it. London sure is noisy along its streets.

Got there and was totally shocked to find out how crazy expensive it was... I'm not even going to tell. But to give it credit, I was there for 2.5 hours. It had a freaky amount of celebreties, sport stars, politicians and the like.. and man oh man where they freaky. They also had the requisite dungeon, complete with hidden humans to jump out and make you scream as well as a cheesie 'ride' al-la Haunted Mansion at Disneyland, and a stupid movie. Anyway, I regret how expensive it was, but not the visit. Also, I got to get some photos with some interesting people!!

My feet were so tired after slowly trapsing through the insane crowds there, but I wasn't yet ready to come back to the hotel. Instead I went on a walk through Regents Park - and was yet again amazed at how quiet the parks are compared to how insanely noisy the rest of the city is.

I then picked up some lunch at Tesco's (sandwiches) and came back to the hotel to rest for a bit before school.

Class this afternoon/evening has really finally made it hit home that I'm in law school. The first hour was anoying, as it was a 'how to write an essay' session for all the non-academics that somehow got into the program. Then there was an hour of Criminal Law lecture which was fantastic, I got really excited! After that there was an incredibly boring Contract law lecture by an ex-student that literally put me to sleep.

After class there was a wine and cheese meet and greet which I'd only intended on going to for a few minutes, but ended up being one of the last to leave. I'd ended up in a long conversation with a British Girl, a US guy and the criminal law professor (who may or may not be the head of the program....) about all sorts of stuff. It was really quite fun! Got some insights that I hope will help me prep.

This program seems to have 2 types of people in it. ESL people from the Carribbean or North Africa who work full time and are just wanting a qualification, and then others who are already insanely versed in both law and politics. I fit in a small minority in the middle somewhere, which both comforts and worries me.

Anyway, after the long chat I wanted to grab a quick dinner before coming back to the hotel, and the only quick dinner that doesn't cost loads was KFC. I haven't been to KFC in probably 5 years, and tonight confirmed it.... GROSS. Anway, my time there was made increasinly hilarious as I was painfully hit on by a local london boy for about 20 minutes, while is angry drunken friend smashed around the restaurant. OYE.. I was very happy to get back to the safety of my room!!

Tomorrow is a full day of class - I think its going to be pretty intense, but at least I'll be off my feet!!!

A Lauren-tiki Tour of London

Begin your day with a Full English Breakfast at your hotel (bacon, eggs, tomato, sausage, baked beans and toast). Then set off on a full-day walking tour of England’s capital.

Walk along Oxford Street from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch. Along the way view many of London’s famed shop and tourist counters. Step into Selfreges’s for a glance at the higher life. Visit Hyde Park, walking under some of London’s large trees and view old Royal buildings, perhaps glimpsing Kensington Palace. View many locals bearing their white skin while running.

Then walk through some of England’s war memorials toward Buckingham Palace. Be sure to get a good spot at the gates of the Palace as the crowds become thick closer to 11am. Watch the Changing of the Guard but remember to keep your bags close as many people push through the crowd to get a view. Keep your elbows sharp to maintain photo spot rights. After the 30 minute ceremony take a few minutes to admire the Queen Victoria fountain and achieve better views of the Palace.

Walk up the Mall, with views of Clarence House and St. James Park. See Horseguard’s parade and Admiralty Arch before finding yourself in Trafalgar Square. Here you will see Nelson’s column, the famous Trafalgar Lions, and the National Gallery. Extra points are awarded to people who find pigeons, as few are left in the square.

Stroll down Whitehall toward the City of Westminster. View 10 Downing St (residence of the Prime Minister), Whitehall Banqueting House, and many other state buildings. Stop to view Westminster Palace, the home of the houses of Parliament. Be sure to take many photographs of Big Ben.

Visit Westminster Abbey, see the tombs of Edward the Confessor, Henry III, Richard II, Henry VII & Elizabeth of York, Margaret Beaufort,, Mary I, Elizabeth I, Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare (monument), General Woolf, Charles Darwin and many more. Be sure to note the Coat of Arms of Katherine Swynford on Elizabeth’s Tomb. As a bonus for visiting on a Thursday, be sure to see the Cloisters and College Gardens – a rarely seen area. The snack shop in the Cloisters offers a good selection of goodies.

Hike over Westminster Bridge to get views of Westminster Palace. Then continue to walk along the south bank around the bend of the Thames. Get views of many old palaces, hotels and factories. See the Waterloo Bridge, Blackfriers Bridge, the Tate Modern, the London Eye and the Globe Theatre. Cross the Thames again on the Millennium Bridge with fantastic views of St. Paul’s Cathedral. See the Cathedral from many angles as you walk toward Fleet Street.

Stroll down Fleet Street taking in the average Londoners afternoon busyness. Make sure you note how many Starbucks you see!! Be careful not to miss the small turn into the Inns of Court, the home of London’s legal world. Visit Temple Church (newly famous due to the DaVinci Code) and the Middle Temple. Be sure to note that the Middle Temple is the eating hall for modern day law students and was constructed during Elizabethan times.

Hike from the Inns of Court to Leicester Square, along Charring Cross Road. Keen visitors will spot the Eleanor Cross (tho I didn’t, AGAIN… ). Leicester Square is the ‘real Londoner’s’ square – where all the movie cinemas an restaurants seem to be. It’s also the heart of the Theatre district. Walk back to the hotel via Tottenham Court Road, being mindful of both construction and pickpockets.

After a short break head out into the Goodage/ Tottenham area for food. Disappointing curry restaurants should be avoided at all cost due to high prices, mediocre food and poor service.

Optional extra: Theatre trip. Be sure to pick up tickets earlier in the day for last minute deals. Tonight’s visit will take you to The Mouse Trap. Be careful on your walk back to the hotel as the London nightlife is quite different to daylight life.

Sleep. Repeat.

Totals so far

Flights - 2
Hours traveling - 19 (door to door)
Police officers encountered (not secrity, actal police) - 12 (+ 1 doggie)
Screaming babies - 3
Hyperactive parent - 1 (I wonder why the baby was screaming)
Broken entertainment system - 5 resets by BA until they declared defeat.
Hours slept - 2 (if you call sitting upright with head-nods sleeping)
Difficult seat mates - 1 (didn't m0ve once the whole flight......)
Busy Tube ride - 1
Blocks hiked with bags - 5
Hours since was last in bed -27 and looking at at least another 3 before bed.

So I've arrived at my hotel/B&B in London. From my talley above I think you can all guess at how great my flight was. SIGH. But I'm here and am finally actually excited to be here. Maybe its something about the grey skys, the grim faces or the pollution? LOL

After arriving I freshened up and jetted out to visit the British Library and had a fantastic time there. Don't know if anyone checking this blog would care, but it's got some wicked manuscripts - 2 of the 4 remaining Magna Cartas (other 2 = Lincoln & Salisbury, so I've seen all 4 now!), Guttenburg Bible, Jane Austen & Emily Bronte letters, really ancient Qu'ran's, super old Hindu & Persian documents - it really was wicked.

And now I'm back in my shoe-box killing some time before heading out for dinner. Want to try stay up till about 10 tonight in hopes of nipping the jet lag in the butt.

Tomorrow I have a huge hike day planned. For those who know London - I'm staying right near the British Museum. I plan to walk along Oxford until Kensington Gardens, down to Buckingham Palace, along the Mall, through Trafalgar Squar, down to visit Big Ben & Westies, then over to the Southbank, along the Thames, crossing back to the Strand to try catch some sort of theatre event, before walking home. My feet will be killing me, but hey, why not?!

Hugs to all!!

Bags packed, books heavy

Traveling to the UK for school has some interesting packing dilemmas... like how do I pack all my books and notes and still have room for clothes and more importantly, my camera?!

Packing took a while and involved a lot of scanning (thanks mom) and printing of files and notes to try limit how much paper I actually have to bring. My little eee pc (baby laptop) is going to be working overdrive the next 2 weeks providing me all these materials. I also ended up buying another (!!) backpack to cart my camera, computer and text's as carry-on, so I can do a lot of work on my flight.

Otherwise I'm now just impatient to get going. My flights are going to take a long time today - I fly through Seattle and have a 3 hour layover there and then there's the standard 8 hour flight (or 9, or 10, or whatever). I think I'll be at my hotel around 6am Vancouver time, tomorrow, but that's around 2pm London time, so as per usual, I'll drop off my bags, unpack my camera and start exploring once more!

For those of you who are worried about my school (heheh) - I've secured extensions on both of the assignments that are due while I'm away. It means I'll be super busy trying to get them completed within 3 days of returning (jetlag? what's that?), but it means I don't have to stress as much while away. Obviously if I have free time I need to work on them, but at least I don't have to make them perfect.

Well that's all for now. I'll msg again when I'm in London, and if I can sort it, I'll include the odd photo or two... I'm also going to try upload my photos on the fly, so remember to check out www.flickr.com/photos/lollslynne - I'll have a set going full of photos!

TTFN!
L