London via Pictures

So here are some pictures of the London trip. I'm getting used to this blogging thing little by little. Thanks to Rachel I even know how to "shark" it to facebook! By the way, my current location is Firenze, Italy! YAYYY! But more on that later...for now enjoy the pictures!

First time on the "tube"!

Not being from a big city with a subway system, this was a huge pubic transportation moment for me! We hopped on the tube to go see the sites and Lindsey was "brilliant" with the navigation-she's practically a London local.

Me with my new boyfriend, Big Ben.

There he is everybody. That's Big Ben! Unfortunately it was a dreary day so I didn't get to see him in all his British glory but he was beautiful nonetheless! I didn't realize he was attached to the Houses of Parliament so when I got off the tube I almost walked right past him. Benny is what I call a tall drink of water.

Elizabeth I

This is Queen Elizabeth I's tomb. It's a little blurry because you're not actually allowed to take pictures in Westminster Abbey so I was sneaking them in whenever I could. Fun fact: Queen Mary I, Elizabeth's half-sister, predecessor, and arch rival in politics and religion, is buried in Queen Elizabeth's tomb along with Elizabeth. The monument over that tomb that you see above has no resemblance or references to Mary I and instead is entirely dedicated to Lizzie (pretty funny/awful). This brings me to a correction in my last blog about the sibling rivalry. To get the facts straight: Mary I and Elizabeth I were half-sisters. Mary ruled first and had Elizabeth imprisoned for a little over a year (not 18-I embellished a bit) because Mary was pro-Roman Catholic and Elizabeth was pro-Protestant and there were Protestant uprisings going on in England. Elizabeth went on trial, Mary I spared her, and later Elizabeth became queen after Mary's death. THEN comes Mary, Queen of Scots. Apparently her and Elizabeth were related somehow but were definitely not sisters, though still arch rivals. Elizabeth had Mary, Queen of Scots, imprisoned for subversive activity and then had her executed. Too many Marys rocking Elizabeth's boat so I got them confused.

Westminster Abbey

I'm on the telly in London, chip chip cheerio!

Buckingham Palace

Lindsey and I stopped by the Queen's neck of the woods. This picture was taken right before she asked us in for tea. Such a lovely lady.

This was wasted on me but I'm sure you Harry Potter fans can appreciate it. We were on our way to France and couldn't stop by the sign at platform 9.75 so this will have to do.

That's the end of the London pictures! Check my facebook page for more :) Ciao!

Crossing the Pond

THIS IS MY FIRST BLOG EVER!! I'll be studying in Florence, Italy this semester and wanted to document my travels on here for family and friends to see back home!

Last Wednesday I arrived at the Heathrow, London airport and after a quick luggage drop-off at the Young's (friends from Duke and godsends for letting me stay with them), Lindsey (another Duke friend studying in Florence this semester) and I set out to experience the best of London in under 12 hours! We hopped on "the tube" (never thought I'd be in love with a public transportation system but it really makes me want to spend a few years in a big city) and arrived at ...drum roll please... BIG BEN! Never have I been so in awe of a clock-it was love at first site (sorry Rachel Dozier). This is about the time when I realized that I'm experiencing my European adventures according to Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen movies. Those childhood favorites are my reference for everything-so far I've lived Winning London and Passport to Paris...next up is When in Rome. :)

Anyway, next we had a quick view of The Eye-pretty cool but passable since we were short on time. We went across the street to see Westminster Abbey and were again awestruck. The church was GORGEOUS! Free audiotours (love) led us through all of the little and not-so-little rooms, my favorite of which were the rooms where Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots were buried. Sure their rooms were ornate and beautiful, but I especially loved seeing them because of the history behind the two rulers. Elizabeth and Mary take the cake when it comes to sibling rivalry, with Hannah and I coming in at a close second. Mary ruled Great Britain first and during her rule she had Elizabeth imprisoned for 18 years because of their different views on how to run the church. When the people of Great Britain realized that Mary was conspiring against her sister, they set Elizabeth free. In the ultimate in-your-face-revenge move, Elizabeth had Mary executed.

Moral of the story: the older sister always wins.

The abbey also had a really cool "poet's corner," where they commemorated people like William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Lewis Carroll, A. E. Housman, and all of the Brontes. Plenty more recognizable playwrights, poets, and writers have either carved stones in the abbey floor, busts, or statues dedicated to them. I thought it was a nice idea that some people made it into the abbey on merit instead of blood. On our way out Lindsey and I lit a candle on the altar and I slipped in a prayer request. We also saw Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin's graves-neat, I had no idea there were buried there!

Next we visited the Queen over at Buckingham Palace for "high tea." I was bummed that I missed the changing of the guards but standing out in the freezing rain and asking strangers to take pictures of us in front of the gate was still pretty fun. I actually think I saw the Queen wink at me from her window. The flag on the palace was raised, which means she was home, which means it was possible.

We continued our journey to Trafalgar Square via a leisurely walk on the Mall after passing through St. James Park. The main event at Trafalgar is the National Gallery, which turned out to be closed. It was still a cool little spot with HUGE lion statues protecting it but with no indoor activity available to us (we needed to get out of the rain), we decided to head back to the Young's for one of our last home cooked meals for a while! The dinner was delicious and all that was left to do was pack for Paris!!

I probably went to bed around 11, I'm only pointing this out because I'm so proud of myself for staying up to avoid jet lag. If you know me, you know I love my sleep. I left the U. S. around 5 PM and arrived in London around 10 AM the next day and because I slept a little on the plane and stayed awake the next day, violá, no jet lag :)

Speaking of violá, the next blog will be about my adventures in Paris! Lindsey and I went this past weekend for 4 days and had an amazing time in the city. I'm hoping I'll be able to load some pictures and catch everything up before things start to get hectic in Florence!

Oh one thing I noticed about London-lots of statues, no plaques. It's a hard transition for a girl from Virginia where every Civil War battlefield, historical house/plantation, and monument of any kind is accompanied by AT LEAST one plaque. We even have one for Bojangles!