london

what can I say about london! it was great! I got there on thursday, and my friend from Catholic who had an internship in parliament this semester gave us an awesome tour of the Parliament building. It was a little Catholic reunion in London, plus we got the hookup! Mark made some friends over the semester and we got to see things inaccessible to the public, like the chapel of st mary undercroft. This crypt-like church was where St thomas more used to come to pray! It was absolutely beautiful.

It was cool to see how the House of Lords and the House of Commons are a lot like our government in DC. The actual building was a lot older and more ornate, but there was the process bears some similarities (wonder why?). After parliament we walked around London and saw the street where the prime minister lives, Westminster Abbey, and of course BIG BEN! When we walked by Trafalgar square there was a free Pink concert going on!! We were really lucky that day.

On Friday I took a day trip to Oxford, which was AWESOME! It was pretty much my dream, because that is where they filmed most of Harry Potter. There were tons of people with really posh accents, and we saw a wedding taking place - English people really do where funny hats to weddings, just like in the movies! We had lunch at Jamie Oliver's restuarant in Oxford ; it was so tasty. I got a veggie sampler thing: it had breads, olive oils, roasted veggies, mozzarella and parmesan cheese, and a little salad. And not too expensive either! We ended the day at Blenheim castle, and wouldn't you know it, Jack Black was shooting a movie there with Emily Blunt (she IS really that skinny in real life). Jack Black seemed just like how he does in his movies in real life. Anyway, the castle was beautiful, even though we were star struck walking through it.

Saturday Matt's friends and him took me on a walking tour of London, starting the the market near Matt's house. We got all sorts of delicious food, and then saw Globe theatre, the Tate modern, Millenium bridge, and St Paul's cathedral. After taking a little siesta in Hyde park on the row boats (Matt is on the crew team so we'll let that be my excuse as to why I didn't help him row) we went home and got ready for a big night out on the West End! We got a drink at this awesome bar overlooking all of the city, and the weather was beautiful! There were tons of artists outside performing for all of the tourists who were walking by. Then we went to see SPRING AWAKENING! I didn't know anything about it, except for that it got amazing reviews in NYC. I found tickets for 20 pounds - I wish the shows in NYC were available for that cheap. The show had some heavy topics, but the music was excellent. I loved it :)

Sunday Matt and I got an English breakfast (he promised me I had to do it before I leave) : baked beans, sausage, bacon, ham, eggs over easy, toast, and tea! Heart attack on a plate. Then I went wondering around Notting Hill, which was beautiful, and to Harrod's. Harrod's was the most exquisite store I've ever been into, except for Galaries Lafayette in Paris. I got some tea to bring home for mi familia!

The only thing about London was that it had a lot of my favorite things from home - like normal sized coffee! It made me a little homesick, but I have to take advantage of my 2 weeks left in Europe!