London Bus Tour

We took a bus tour around London this morning.  It was again led by a Blue Badge guide; Hugh was quite knowledgeable and shared lots of tidbits of London history with us.  We viewed all the major sights - Big Ben/Parliament, Westminister Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral, Tower of London, London Bridge, The London Eye, and Buckingham Palace.  I posted LOTS of pictures to Facebook earlier.  You can tell many of them were taking from a bus - there are reflections of my camera and window frames in the way!  We did hop off a few times for some unobstructed pictures: at St. Paul's, across the river from the Tower of London, and at St. James Palace/Buckingham Palace where we watched the Changing of the Guard.  We will get more indepth visits at many of these places, but this was a great overview of the city.

Wimbledon

Saturday, Myra & I took the tube down to Wimbledon.  We went to the All England Lawn Tennis Club.  There we walked around the complex and took some pictures.  You could hear a bit of the matches beng held on Centre Court.  To get same-day tickets, you can "queue" (line up) - we got there at 3 and the queue was a 5-6 hour wait. So unfortunately, we did not make it inside.  But I still got strawberries & cream!                     

Bloomsbury/Soho Walking Tour

This morning we took a walking tour of the Bloomsbury/Soho area of London (the area the FSU Study Centre is in.)  It was lead by an entertaining Blue Badge guide.  We saw Soho Square, where they had an adorable kangaroo, and the St. Giles-in-the-Fields Church, where they used to treat lepers.  Many music legends have been associated with this area - we saw where the UFO nightclub used to be (where Pink Floyd got its start), Paul McCartney's office, the studio that first had Dolby recording (Hey Jude was recorded there & some Queen stuff), and Tin Can Alley where you can buy instruments & sheet music and the Regent Sounds Studio where Cat Stevens, The Rolling Stones, and Elton John all recorded.  We also saw the pub that George Orwell frequented.

Settling In

Today, I attended two orientation sessions about the FSU programs, living in London, and keeping safe.  We also took a walking tour of the area near where we are staying highlighting tube stops, grocery stores, walk-in clinics (complete with a EMS bicycle team), and other necessities.  The rest of the day was spent settling in - buying groceries, getting a cell phone, and unpacking.  Below is a slideshow of pictures of our lovely flat.

My flatmates are Stephanie and Myra.  Myra is also in Project LEAD and teaches in St. Petersburg.  Stephanie is from Winter Haven and works in a public library.  She is getting her Masters in school media.  Both are very easy to get along with and we are having a nice time together.

On to London

This morning I was in Germany - now I'm sitting in my flat in London!  Back in April when I was making plane reservations, I was so proud of my small airline flight from Zweibrucken, Germany to London, England that only cost 10 euros (around $15).  Sure there were a few extra fees for bags and online booking, but it was a still a great deal...well, I got to the airport and found out that my bag was 7 kilos too heavy - which only cost me another 105 euros!  Oh well, I still think I did a pretty good job of making for nearly a month in just one suitcase.  I don't think that I could have made it under 30 lbs anyway.

The flight itself was uneventful.  I flew into a smaller London airport (Stanstead) and took the express train into central London.  Shortly after leaving the airport, a voice came over the loudspeaker saying that we were going to be delayed because the train ahead of us was on fire! On the train, I was sitting across from a barrister.  We talked a bit during the wait and he actually does wear the curly wig on days he is in high court.  I was disappointed he didn't have it with him because I would have loved to have taken a picture!  (No views of burning trains either, so no photos today!) We were finally diverted another direction and got there over an hour late.  

I hopped on the tube and made it to Tottenham Court Road and the FSU London Study Centre.  I am living with 2 other girls in the multimedia program in a flat that is on the fourth floor.  It is 59 small, winding steps up to our flat.  Lots of fun with a suitcase!  I had dinner with the other girls from Project LEAD at a Spanish tapas restaurant, then came back and unpacked.  Tomorrow we have several orientations and more time to settle in.

Germany Day 3

My last full day in Germany was another great one!  Ursula, Kathryn, & I took the train to Heidelberg.  First, we toured the castle.  It was gorgeous!  Lots of ornately decorated rooms and beautiful architecture.  Afterwards, we walked down to the older part of the city.  This area had cobblestone streets lined with shops and restaurants.  We had a nice lunch and I tried 'radler' - beer & sprite (surprisingly tasty!)  We strolled and stopped in more magnificent churches.

Back in Landstuhl, we went out for a farewell dinner (Wiener Schnitzel!) with Ursula's family.  They have been so kind to take me in and show me their country this week.  It has been a wonderful experience!

Germany Day 2

Today we took a cruise up the Rhine river from Bingen to St. Goar.  We saw about a dozen castles on the hills on either side of the river.  The many towns lining the river were quaint and even though most were small, they had beautiful churches.  One of the highlights was a rocky cliff called Loreley.  German legend claims that there was a gorgeous siren who would sing from the cliffs luring sailors to their doom.

Before the 2 hour boat ride, we walked around the town of Rudesheim.  There we looked in many tourist shops (lots of cuckoo clocks, nutcrackers, and beer steins.)  We had lunch in a small biergarten with a large bell clock.  Our lunch sampled many foods of the region - duck with wine grapes, wild boar ham, and cheese marinated with Riesling, apples, and hazelnuts.  

We rode the train back home to have an excellent dinner.  Ursula's dad made rotisserie beer chicken and we had (German) potato salad.  For dessert we are having her mom's famous cheesecake.  Yummy!