This week was quite an eventful one. Monday, my class took a three hour walking tour of London seeing various historical halls, churches, markets, and streets. Although it was very interesting, the windy, rainy weather made it almost impossible to enjoy. I was so tempted to ditch the group for tea but in the end decided to stick it out. I also found out Monday that I will be going to see Phantom of the Opera in March and a premier league football match between Fulham and Reading in May! How? Believe it or not, NYU gave each student 20 credits to use for musicals, plays, sporting events, tours, and other various events. A larger event, such as seeing Les Misérables, cost 6 credits and a smaller event like going to a museum cost 2. Even though all events sold out and all my credits weren’t able to be used, I am so excited and fortunate to be able to go to a show and a soccer (er football, sorry) match while in London!
Wednesday night was awesome thanks to Square Meal and my lovely boss. She decided to take me to my first “Press Only” party for a new restaurant launch in London. This meant getting picked up in a Mercedes, driving around London at night, interviewing the owners, and drinking free champagne…oh and free dinner as well!
Valentine’s day abroad felt very similar to Valentine’s day in the states-men carrying roses, teddy bears, and chocolates around and lots of boxes of Sweethearts being eaten. It was hard being away from my boyfriend this Valentine’s Day, but I did get two very big care packages from home filled with essentials-poptarts, easy mac, lollipops, and chocolates, of course.What made my day even better was the NYU traffic light party with £3 drinks that night at an awesome club downtown.
This weekend I gave in to my tourist desires and went on a large double decker bus tour with two friends. It was cold, but a really great way to see the entirety of London. Big Ben, House of Parliament, Tower of London, and Westminster Abbey were among our stops. Driving across Tower Bridge was amazing with no roof over our heads.
Sunday I got out of the city for a bit and took a country drive to Stonehenge and Bath. Even though I initially went on the day trip primarily to see Stonehenge, Bath turned out to be one of my favorite things I’ve seen so far. The city is absolutely stunning and filled with history, pubs, shopping, and great scenic views of the English countryside.
Unfortunately it is soon time to start worrying about midterm season. It doesn’t even feel like I am going to school here at all, but I’m sure that will change very soon.