I've mentioned before that I studied abroad in London during the summer of 2009, it was lovely :) I've picked some of my favorite pictures from my trip...
St. Paul's Cathedral...too perfect of a picture. I new of this "St. Paul's" before I went to London, but being there and seeing this beautiful domed cathedral stick out among the many high rise buildings really spoke to my soul. I don;t know that it was about St. Paul's that drew me in so much, but it was always a comfort to be in this far away and strange city and to be able to look up and see this hugh piece of architecture with it's beautiful lines standing out from all of the 90 degree angles of the modern buildings. I took a British Humanities course while I was there and I remember the professor trying to make us understand what a landmark St. Paul's Cathedral is for the people of London, and it can't really be expressed accurately unless you just happen to look up from your walk to the grocery store and see this monument...it's indescribable.
Buckingham Palace...as seen from St. James' Park.
Fabulous uniform...
Hands down...BEST CANDY BAR (aka biscuit...if you're abroad) EVER
Seriously the best...
tiny piece of beauty in the middle of downtown...
This church, we saw on a coach (aka bus) tour one of our first days over. It was bombed heavily during WWII and instead of rebuilding it they cleared away most of the rubble and planted rose bushes where the pews used to be. One of the most interesting aspects of being in London was being able to see the damage that World War II caused in the city. To imagine walking down the road and being afraid of having a bomb dropped near by is pretty much unimaginable to me. It really makes a mark on your heart thinking about all of those people living in fear for so many years while just trying to live their lives.
a sushi place...
wonderful chairs...
Street Performers!!
One of my favorite things about visiting large cities...(not so favorite thing about London but still awesome...in the more popular sections of the city, they have urinals that pop up out of the ground at night and the guys can pay to go pee in the middle of the sidewalk...outrageous!)
More touristy than most of the places I really liked in London, but despite this market being a hugh tourist attraction, it has managed to retain it's tiny town ambiance...
Wheatgrass shots!
Lovely Blake :)
Beautiful Lauren...
St. Paul's from the Millennium Bridge...
Dancing our asses off at Tiger Tiger...it was also the night before my 22nd birthday :)
My friend Max took me to the Henley Royal Regatta for my birthday! I met Max in Tallahassee a couple years ago while I was sitting on the deck of Po Boys Downtown, drinking green beer because it was St. Patty's day, when I realized that the guys at the table behind me had accents that were quite foreign. It turned out that this group of English gents were on holiday to visit our Panama City Spring Break. I have seen Max in two places since then...New York City and London (where he is from). He's awesome :)
The special enclosure pass...I wasn't special enough (couldn't walk either but that's another story) to get to go inside...but the Queen wasn't there so I guess it's ok I didn't get to go :)
Me taking a break from reading Steig Larsson's book The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in St. James' Park.
It's really true that if the weather is nice in London you will see people in parks and squares everywhere taking off their shirts and shoes to enjoy the beautiful weather. I think it's really neat that they embrace sunny weather in a way that I feel Americans lack proper appreciation for...especially us Floridians :)
oh public transportation...how I miss you
skate park on the South Bank
I took Latin for several years...I stood with a confused look on my face for several minutes before spurting out "IT WILL SEPARATE NO ONE!!!" then a silent "booyah!" to myself...of course...
Post-translation thumbs up...yes, I real am that cool.
To follow...pictures from the week I spent in Ireland :)
Cheers!
I miss Europe terribly...
Xxx,
Cola
