Weekend Update

Hi again!!

If you can't tell, above are some pics of me and Hill enjoying our first class experience.

Since the last time we talked, not much more has gone on, considering it's only been like a day and a half. Friday we continued our fast paced travels around London, and I do mean fast! The drill is that we all meet in the lobby of our building at 9am sharp, then we walk to the nearest Tube station with the line that will take us to the Tube station closest to where we want to end up for the day. Taking the tube in the morning is a really stressful task, especially with a large group of Americans that aren't very familiar with public transportation. The Tube is packed and hot in the mornings with business people going to work. The Londoners keep to themselves and like it if that's what you do as well. They usually read their paper, or a book, or sit quietly and listen to music. The underground system here is still new and slightly confusing, but the more you use it and study the route maps, it's not as overwhelming as I once thought. It's really a shame that America doesn't have a train system like here in Europe. Getting places is for the most part easy and cheap.



Friday we went to the part of town called Cheapside. It was full of very significant London history. Along the way, we basically traced the steps in T.S. Eliot's poem, The Wasteland, only backwards. We stood where the Great Fire of 1666 began in a Baker's shop on Pudding Lane and burned the whole city of London. We saw Tower Bridge (which is the one most famously recognized) and London bridge, and walked over a few other bridges which Dr. Saliba (our engineering teacher) had the pleasure of describing the mechanics off all kinds of bridges to us, something I haven't exactly grasped. We stopped in a few churhces, most of which were designed by Christopher Wren, who has become an important figure in our discussion of architecture. We were also surprised, while winding through the many back alleys of the city, feeling quite lost at times, to come out at a familiar park called, Postman's Park. If you have seen the movie, "Closer", you would surely recognize it as well. It was a nice treat.



After another long day of keeping up with Sean, my flatmates and I decided to get dressed up and face the Tube all by ourselves to get to the National Portrait Gallery in order to see the Vanity Fair exhibit. We successfully got their, and the exhibit was incredible! It contained most of the portraits that have appeared in Vanity Fair since 1910, in photographic print form. Some of my favorite photographer's pieces were there, and it was really special to see them in physical form. After that, our feet were killing from our heels, so we took the double decker bus back to our flat and changed into pub clothes. Then we went down the street to a pub we are quickly becoming regulars at called, The Duke of York. Some of the group went out to a club afterwards, while me and few stayed and enjoyed the laid back pub atmosphere.



Today me and Hillary realized how much homework we have due this upcoming week, and became a little nervous. So what do we do? Come to the internet cafe of course!! Now I gotta go and be productive in a new way.

Peace and Love