We just arrived to London today! As soon as we pulled away from the airport in our bus, of course it started raining. So we started our London experience with typical weather. However, it's a lot colder than I was expecting. I'm not sure if I brought enough warm jackets like my mom tried to warn me to.
We stopped at all the apartments and got settled it. I live in Hampden House with Stacy, Kelsey, Emily, and Anna. Our rooms are more spacious than I thought they would be but I didn't expect the building to be older/historic-like. The bathroom is a lot nicer than I was picturing. And we have a full kitchen, which is nice. After we got settled in, we went upstairs for a general overview of the apartment rules. We got to see another group's apartment, which seemed a lot bigger but still similar to ours.
Then we had a little free time so we went out to explore. We went to a phone store to get go phones but I didn't have enough cash so then we found Barclays. They didn't convert money so then we had to find a post office. The post office was in the back of a drug store, which was interesting. I converted my money there. Kelsey and I were proud of ourselves for finding both the bank and post office after walking around blind, not really knowing where we were going.
We headed back to the flat to set our things down before the group walking tour. My boots had gotten soaked from the rain so I had to take them off to dry. The only other shoes I had that I didn't care if they got wet were flip flops...so I put those on. During the walking tour, my feet got soaked and were freezing but it might have been worth not drenching another pair of shoes. Everyone on the street looked at me like I was crazy for wearing them and I don't blame them. It was cold!
The walking tour was very helpful. We walked to Oxford Street, Piccadilly Circus, and eventually ended up by the river where the London Eye is. This helped me get familiar with my surroundings. Then we took the tube back. We are all still nervous about taking the tube on our own but this was also so helpful being able to use it as a group and see how it works.
When we got near our apartment, Kelsey, Emily, and I looked for a place to eat dinner. We found a chicken place that seemed like they had decent prices and food. I got a chicken sandwich and fries. I didn't finish my sandwich so I tried to ask for a to-go box and the waitress looked at me like I was crazy. Later, I found out they're called take-aways here so next time I'll remember to ask for that.
After dinner, we went back to the apartment and decided we would just go to bed. I was the last one to shower before bed and since it was later and the light in our bathroom didn't work, I basically had to shower in the dark. Then I Skyped with my mom, tried to read a little of my book, and then decided I was way too tired and I should just go to sleep after a long day of traveling.
No comments:
Post a Comment