Well it's now 2 sleeps until I fly home. 2 sleeps after 2 months... went so fast.
Change is in the air in London. Granted July was very cold and grim, but 2 weeks of August have been nice weather. Today, suddenly, the rain is back, and its quite chilly and cold.
The changes are elsewhere too - it's the last long weekend for the UK until Christmas and people are heading out of town. There's a sense of impatience, of 'last chance for summer'. Little changes have occured - all the double-decker bus advertisments have changed from displaying summer movies to fall ones. The stores have suddenly changed to fall clothing. I don't know. Maybe I'm looking for it, but I definitely feel that summer, here, is over, and it's time to move along...
My last week here has been strange. I met up with a close family friend on Monday after work for drinks - hadn't seen him in about 2 years so it was a nice time to chat. Tuesday was my real 'busy' day as I met up with Lars and Patricia for the last time in London (Team 2 for 1!)... and later I met up with my landlady and she took me on a tour of London by night. The super cool thing there was being allowed backstage at Covent Garden, a dancer's dream!
Wednesday was my first attempt at packing. GROAN! I've bought too much and have no space!! I think I'll be wearing 10 layers to get everything in... well, maybe not that bad, but I fully expect an 'overweight' charge on my bags.
My other plans for this week fell through, so I've been pretty low-key, just chilling and getting ready for being at home. My internet at my flat is down to my last £0.25, so I'm pretty silent.. this will be the last blog entry until I'm back home again.
Once I've settled at home I intend on chosing a few select photos to add to my blog, and the rest will go up on Flickr.
Until then, well, pip pip, jolley good show and all that...
AKA
Toodles!
Friday, August 28, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
and in other news...
I PASSED!!!! (my 2nd year law exams)
Horrah!! Farewell to the horrors of second year, welcome to the chaos of my final year of the UK LLB....
What a relief.
Horrah!! Farewell to the horrors of second year, welcome to the chaos of my final year of the UK LLB....
What a relief.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
winding down
Since my last entry I’ve been based in a different part of London – Oxford Street. This is a must-see place for tourists, so as you can imagine, its busier than Metrotown on Boxing Week. And.. you can imagine how much this frustrates me! Arugh!! I’m getting good at the side-streets!
Last week my cousin Perdi was in town for a few days so I was playing tour-guide! It was quite fun getting back into the tourist mode in the City, while at the same time knowing my way around way better than ever before – no maps required and hours upon hours of walking! I felt a little bad with how much walking I made her do straight off the flight, but whatever, you’re only here while you’re here!! She got the grand tour of London, some yummy food and drinks at a pub – standard!
This past weekend I was down visiting family who live in Southampton, right on the south coast of England. It was a far slower pace weekend than most of my others have been but still a nice time. We spent Saturday in the ‘New Forest’ which is a chunk of land King John designated as ‘protected’ (ie for him) back in the 1200’s – which means some pretty big trees and untouched scenery. We were driving around looking at Art galleries an exhibitions – the one family member I was visiting is a fantastic artist so we were sussing out her competition! Sunday we visited a cool roman site called Fishbourne and then bumbled around the edges of Portsmouth were there is loads of water traffic to ogle at.
It’s now my last week in London and I’m amazed at how time has flown by. I feel I haven’t even scraped the surface over here, let alone started to use the location for Europe jumping – I had too many people to see and places and such to even consider the other side of the Channel!. Perhaps I’ll come back next summer and do more? We’ll see. I will admit, I’m starting to look forward to the comforts of home.
This final week is stacking up to be pretty busy – have quite a few dinner/drinks lined up as well as a trip to Betty Windsor’s abode (Buckingham Palace)… and somewhere in there I have to pack up 2 months worth of junk into my suitcases! Not gonna be fun!
Last week my cousin Perdi was in town for a few days so I was playing tour-guide! It was quite fun getting back into the tourist mode in the City, while at the same time knowing my way around way better than ever before – no maps required and hours upon hours of walking! I felt a little bad with how much walking I made her do straight off the flight, but whatever, you’re only here while you’re here!! She got the grand tour of London, some yummy food and drinks at a pub – standard!
This past weekend I was down visiting family who live in Southampton, right on the south coast of England. It was a far slower pace weekend than most of my others have been but still a nice time. We spent Saturday in the ‘New Forest’ which is a chunk of land King John designated as ‘protected’ (ie for him) back in the 1200’s – which means some pretty big trees and untouched scenery. We were driving around looking at Art galleries an exhibitions – the one family member I was visiting is a fantastic artist so we were sussing out her competition! Sunday we visited a cool roman site called Fishbourne and then bumbled around the edges of Portsmouth were there is loads of water traffic to ogle at.
It’s now my last week in London and I’m amazed at how time has flown by. I feel I haven’t even scraped the surface over here, let alone started to use the location for Europe jumping – I had too many people to see and places and such to even consider the other side of the Channel!. Perhaps I’ll come back next summer and do more? We’ll see. I will admit, I’m starting to look forward to the comforts of home.
This final week is stacking up to be pretty busy – have quite a few dinner/drinks lined up as well as a trip to Betty Windsor’s abode (Buckingham Palace)… and somewhere in there I have to pack up 2 months worth of junk into my suitcases! Not gonna be fun!
Monday, August 17, 2009
whoops! long time, no blog!
sorry! I've been busy and forgot to update!
Work has been work, random amounts of interesting material mixed with mundane whatever stuff. Regardless of interest, it's all valuable experience.
The fun stuff, of course, has been touristing on the weekends.
So I spent a weekend in Kent. One one day I met up with a co-worker who lives out in Rochester and she drove me around there, as well as took me to Leeds Castle (WOW!!!) and dropped me in Canterbury to visit that myself. So yes, Leeds was beautifully situated, so cool! Canterbury has always been on my lists of places to visit. I think that had I not been to so many of the worlds amazing cathedrals this year I would have been more impressed but alas. I was definitely able to put myself into the 'wow cool' headspace, but it wasn't as awe-inspiring as others have been. It was cool to see where Beckett was taken-out, as well as the tombs of HenryIV and the Black Prince.
I have also been down to Dover Castle now - another dream of mine to see. It was so awesome to be back at the sea, I didn't realize how much I missed the salty air. I spent the entire day in the castle, exploring tunnels and keeps and climbing mounds, all very cool stuff!
This past week had more interesting stuff to report on as I went to two shows! I met up with my old friend Lars and we went to see Avenue Q, and then later in the week I went to see Pricilla, Queen of the Desert (look them both up online if you are interested).
Friday night some co-workers and I went out for some drinks - it was so strange to be at a bar and seeing people in suits dancing around.. such a different scene to home (I think, I don't really get out much)...
This past weekend I was closer to home. On Saturday I met up with Lars again and went to the Tower of London. I'd been before but he hadn't, so we totally explored all over. It was a nice day. That night I went to a party one of the lawyers at work was hosting... such a different kind of house party, and those who know my lack of small talking abilities would have been proud of me!!
Yesterday I journeyed out to Brighton, a big beach party town. I'm glad I've been but I doubt I'll go back. The coolest thing was the Brighton Pavillion - google it.
So now I continue on getting experience and trying to be a tourist. My little cousin Perdi shows up for a few nights tomorrow so that should be loads of fun. I'll try update again soon!!
Work has been work, random amounts of interesting material mixed with mundane whatever stuff. Regardless of interest, it's all valuable experience.
The fun stuff, of course, has been touristing on the weekends.
So I spent a weekend in Kent. One one day I met up with a co-worker who lives out in Rochester and she drove me around there, as well as took me to Leeds Castle (WOW!!!) and dropped me in Canterbury to visit that myself. So yes, Leeds was beautifully situated, so cool! Canterbury has always been on my lists of places to visit. I think that had I not been to so many of the worlds amazing cathedrals this year I would have been more impressed but alas. I was definitely able to put myself into the 'wow cool' headspace, but it wasn't as awe-inspiring as others have been. It was cool to see where Beckett was taken-out, as well as the tombs of HenryIV and the Black Prince.
I have also been down to Dover Castle now - another dream of mine to see. It was so awesome to be back at the sea, I didn't realize how much I missed the salty air. I spent the entire day in the castle, exploring tunnels and keeps and climbing mounds, all very cool stuff!
This past week had more interesting stuff to report on as I went to two shows! I met up with my old friend Lars and we went to see Avenue Q, and then later in the week I went to see Pricilla, Queen of the Desert (look them both up online if you are interested).
Friday night some co-workers and I went out for some drinks - it was so strange to be at a bar and seeing people in suits dancing around.. such a different scene to home (I think, I don't really get out much)...
This past weekend I was closer to home. On Saturday I met up with Lars again and went to the Tower of London. I'd been before but he hadn't, so we totally explored all over. It was a nice day. That night I went to a party one of the lawyers at work was hosting... such a different kind of house party, and those who know my lack of small talking abilities would have been proud of me!!
Yesterday I journeyed out to Brighton, a big beach party town. I'm glad I've been but I doubt I'll go back. The coolest thing was the Brighton Pavillion - google it.
So now I continue on getting experience and trying to be a tourist. My little cousin Perdi shows up for a few nights tomorrow so that should be loads of fun. I'll try update again soon!!
Monday, August 03, 2009
Further Adventures
Last week had a lot more going on for me, work wise. This is a good thing – I’d much rather be busy and learning material than sitting trying to find interesting news stories on the BBC! That being said, some of my research has been quite grim – one lawyer has me researching the proper ways to secure permission to burry someone in a field… ahem.
I did managed to finally see Harry Potter last week and despite all the missing plot points, I quite enjoyed it. It was also quite fun to see it in London, especially the opening scene where the Millenium foot bridge is destroyed – I often walk onto/across that on my lunchtime break!
Last Thursday night I finally got a real ‘introduction’ to the business world in London – a number of the lawyers here took me out for a drink. Or two. Or 6. Ahem. It was a nice place we went and I had a pretty good time, picking peoples brains and just relaxing. I must say, there were a few hung-over people the next morning (I’m good at keeping my glass looking full, stopping the top-ups).
I went down to visit my Aunt and Uncle in Maidenhead (near Heathrow) for the weekend and it was very nice to see some familiar faces. Saturday took us to a rainy Oxford where it happened to be graduation day. I didn’t get to explore too much as most of the town was closed, but I did go into Christ Church, their big famous one… It’s where Alice in Wonderland was written and set, and also known for it’s hall and staircases as seen in Harry Potter..
Sunday took us on a traditional English road-trip, up to the Cotswolds. Now this is only a 2 hour drive from London, but the reactions I’ve got from co-workers (many who have never been) make it seem like it was a few days drive away. It’s a lovely scenic area of rolling hills, sheep and very old but really cute cottages. Anyone looking for some random English driving and quaint towns should hit up the Cotswolds.
This week doesn’t seem to hold much excitement for me, so therefore I must try make my own. I’m having dinner with my Land-lady tonight, drinks with one of Guy’s friends on Wednesday, and will try go to a show or something if cheap tickets exist. This coming weekend shall take me to Kent and Dover. Watch for updates later!
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