My London Excursions + Paris

Over the 2 weeks I have been here in London I've been filling my free time with touristy things: the London Eye, Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace, and Big Ben. They were all nice places, but they didn't "wow" like over landmarks in other cities in Europe. To the cities I've been to throughout Europe, they are gorgeous compared to London. Even though, New York was based on London, it is still better and prettier. You just can't beat the city that never sleeps! What I miss the most is having 24/7 running subways. I spent about 200 Euros on taxi's in Barcelona because the concierge at the hotel told us to avoid the subway because it is notorious for pick-pocketers.

One of the most exciting places for any Harry Potter fan is to go to the studio tour in London, which is approximately 30 minutes away from the city. It was just a great experience! There were a bunch of people there, therefore, the crowds of people made the process rush a little more. I was there for a total of 3 hours. It may seem like a lot of time spent on a movie set, but it was well worth it! Here is a video of my Harry Potter adventure (Click Here).

Just this past weekend, I venture out of the UK, and went to Paris! With the short amount of time to spend in Paris, it seemed like I accomplished a lot! I went to the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, the Llouvre, Notre Dame, and the Palace of Versailles. I somehow found a way to pack all these places within 2 days. When I first arrived, I went straight to the Eiffel Tower, and managed to get tickets to go up the elevator to the top. As a heads up, there were these women carrying "petitions", where they would ask you to sign and give money or possible steal your stuff while signing. It has happened to a fellow Drexel student, so beware when you go to very touristy destinations. Even though, it was entertaining while waiting in line, it was so sad how people who couldn't speak english or french very well were taking advantaged of. So I had to choose to go in the Llourve or Notre Dame, and I choose the Llourve. There were lines, everywhere I went, but this designation wasn't that bad. The last day (which took all day), was the Palace of Versailles. When getting there around 11am and not purchasing tickets/tour beforehand, I was able to get in around 1:30pm. The line for the tickets, and the line to get in were very long. The wait was well worth it!. Paris was worth running around, and cramming it in a weekend.

A Prince is Born & London Life Goes On

This past week has been filled with a lot of schoolwork because this is already the fifth week of classes! For our final paper in my British Culture and Visual Media class I chose to compare London and New York fashion. I found out a lot about the two cities and even that they are the top two fashion capitals of the world. London has been ranked as top fashion city for the past two years. After this week is over, we start a new set of classes and then it's already time to come home. I can't believe how quickly my time here has gone. I keep thinking about how many things we've already done and yet there is still so much more I want to do. The one thing that I absolutely want to do before I leave is go to Princess Diana's playground in Kensington gardens where she used to bring Princes William and Harry. I wonder if Kate and William will bring their little boy there!

Speaking of which, I knew that Kate was due to give birth while I would be here for study abroad and it has been a waiting game up until now. There were rumors that she was due last weekend and that didn't happen so no one really knew what to expect. In fact, she left London because of this heatwave that is still going on and Kensington Palace doesn't even have air conditioning! Sunday night there was a violent thunder and lightning storm but there was nor rain! Some people thought that the thunder was sounds of a helicopter to bring the Princess to the hospital, but it just so happened to be a coincidence. Yesterday when Kate went into labor, it was all anyone could talk about. Before class, we were all tuned to BBC to see if there was any news. Photographers and reporters have been camped outside St. Mary's hospital for weeks now! I even saw Cat Sadler from E! News when we went to see a play with our Shakespeare class last week! When the press release finally came out last night it was 8:30 PM here and I was at dinner at British Chef Jamie Oliver's restaurant, Fifteen. Both the food and the atmosphere was amazing. Even the bathrooms were decorated beautifully! My friends in the US were texting me and asking if people were celebrating but strangely enough I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. However, I do know that people spent up to an hour just trying to see the easel at Buckingham Palace
where the announcement of the birth is posted.

We are all still eagerly awaiting to find out what the Duke and Duchess have chosen to name their child. So many people thought for sure that it was going to be a girl and personally I was hoping so because a new law was passed this year that said the first born no matter the sex would be next in line for the throne. Nevertheless, everyone is excited for the arrival of the royal baby and all sorts of souvenirs have already been sold in commemoration of this royal occasion. I am planning on saving yesterday and today's newspapers because it truly is amazing that I am here for this. I was a bit jealous that last year's study abroad group was here for the olympics but I'm happy that I'm here for this momentous occasion.

The royal baby is the biggest news, but I'm also going to the London Eye tonight and I'm excited for that! The London Eye is a giant ferris wheel on the South bank of the River Thames. It is right near Big Ben and we've passed it many times so far and it'll be fun to finally go on it! Also, after classes are over this week, I am going to Barcelona for the weekend! I look forward to reporting back on that in my next post. Then when I get back, I will be taking the History of Modern Design and Food, Society and Culture in Great Britain.