London: The Diamond Jubilee

Views from my semester abroad. 

Looks as though I have one more London post! On June third, Hayley, her sister Blair, and I went to the British museum and got a tasty lunch at a little cafe called Apricot. Afterwards we headed to the Queen's Diamond Jubilee boat parade! We met up with our friend Amanda and walked to the river, where we joined a massive crowd trying to get onto one of the brides overlooking the Thames. After much waiting (and joking around with the security personnel) we made out out onto the bridge, where we had stunning views of the parade of boats as they passed below. It was amazing to see how many people came out for the celebration and how excited everyone was!

About a half hour after we made it to the bridge it started to pour buckets! We ended up running to the Southbank Center, where we took refuge and got to watch the rest of the parade broadcast on a projector. The end of the celebration was the most amazing thing; everyone stood up and sang the national anthem together while cheering, hugging, and crying. I'll never forget how powerful the feeling of national pride and unity there was in that moment. Even as an American who didn't know the words and didn't grow up with a monarchy, I still teared up a little at the end!

London: Regent's Park

Views from my semester abroad. 

At the beginning of June I went on a last walk around Regent's Park, one of my favorite places in all of London. The rose gardens were finally coming into bloom, and it was wonderful to wander around with my camera and take it all in. The gardeners in London certainly know what they're doing!

I'm not positive, but I think this might be my last post about London. However, stay tuned for pictures of Scotland, Italy, France, Sweden, Denmark, and good ol' Georgia, USA!

London: Southwark

Views from my semester abroad.

In June Hayley and I took an afternoon trip to the Imperial War Museum in London, where we wandered around the exhibits, including a phenomenal Holocaust display and a silly "Blitz Experience". Afterwards we went to the Festival of the World at the Southbank Center, where we saw foods from around the globe and got tasty champagne cider from the "Somerset Ploughman". We also saw a neat outdoor performance as part of the National Theater's "Inside Out" campaign. We ended the night with a trip to the Tate Modern, where we got to see Damien Hirst's "For the Love of God 2007" exhibit; a skull encased in platinum and encrusted with over 8,000 diamonds (who thinks of this stuff?).

London: Windsor Castle

Views from my semester abroad.

My final weeks in London were spent wearing sundresses, drinking Pimms and lemonade, and (finally) enjoying some warm weather! I filled my time with museum visits, strolling through the city parks (including Battersea, Hyde, and Hampstead Heath), and trips to Covent Garden and Camden Market.

In late May my friend Yilong and I went to Windsor Castle, which is just a short train ride outside of the city! We had a blast touring the grounds, seeing the changing of the guards (I even got a video!), and grabbing lunch in the sweet little town. Stay tuned for a few more London posts!

London: Homeward bound

It’s my last day in London, and I’m having trouble putting what I’m feeling into words. For the last five months I have lived, worked, and explored this beautiful city, and on Saturday I’m going to be heading back to the United States. Leaving London is incredibly bittersweet. I’m really excited to see my family and friends again, to kick off my senior year at Emory University, and to indulge in all the little things I missed while away (fresh Jersey blueberries, long bike rides, Trader Joes, and summer afternoons spent reading on the porch swing all come to mind). However, I know I’m going to miss London a lot. The city really has an amazing amount to offer: weekly street markets, amazing museums, and incredible sights, to name but a few. It will be strange when I get home and realize that I can’t simply walk to the grocery store for some milk or take a ten minute tube ride to half a dozen different (free!) museums whenever I want.

I feel so incredibly blessed to have been able to spend five months studying in the UK. Being able to explore London and travel to different cities in Europe has been a dream come true, and I’m so grateful for the opportunities I have had while here. I must admit that academically I struggled with being abroad; even though it looks like all I did was travel, I studied a lot, too! As an environmental studies and anthropology major in the US, being in the biology department at University College London was a challenge for me, and I had a hard time adjusting to the style of teaching in the UK. However, I learned a lot, enjoyed most of my classes, and am glad that I chose to challenge myself academically while abroad.

Overall, even though I'm sad to leave, I think I’m ready to go home. I loved being abroad and I wouldn’t take back the experience for the world, but I’m ready to have new adventures in the US! After I get home my family will be going to Arizona for my cousins wedding, and I can’t wait to see everyone and enjoy being together (which doesn't happen often enough!). In July I’ll be heading down to Atlanta to move into my off campus apartment, where I’ll be studying for the GRE and trying to find a job before the school year kicks off. Hopefully I’ll be catching up on blog posts, too; I can’t wait to share pictures from Italy, Sicily, Denmark, Sweden, and Scotland!

To everyone who has followed along with my study abroad adventures, thank you. Your words or encouragement and support have meant so much to me! And to everyone who helped make this possible (especially my wonderfully supportive parents), thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am so incredibly blessed to have you in my life.

London: East London

Last weekend Hayley and I took the tube to East London! We went to the Columbia Road Flower Market, checked out the V&A Museum of Childhood (which had a neat exhibit on the Olympic mascots and a ton of awesome old Star Wars toys), wandered around Brick Lane, and went to the Whitechapel Gallery.

While wandering around Brick Lane we stopped by the Sunday Up Market for some veggie Thai pumpkin curry and a chocolate dirtball cupcake from Kookeybakes. I'm such a hopeless chocolate addict!