Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday

Monday, 7/30
Leanne and I got back to Furnival in the morning around 10 am. Sunday night's travels added up to twelve hours of journeying since we left Dublin at 715 pm! I don't know how I wasn't more tired than I was because I probably only slept a few hours at a time between each transfer & I have always needed 8 solid hours a night. Whatev. After I had a shower I went out to school, grabbed some buddies, and headed to Traflagar Square. From there we went ot the NPG to view the Diana exhibit, then over to Neal's Yard and Covent Garden. We ate paninis at the infamous Bar Italia, which is across the street from Ronnie Scott's in SOHO.
That night we tried to go to a punk rock place called The End which we thought would be a good club but we were denied because the guys dressed too frat. Seriously. We ended up going to a great place that a local called 'posh'. Maybe because the Swarovski crystal chandelier was the size of a highway billboard? In all it was a good night. Great company.

Tuesday, 7/31

Tourguide Tara came up with a great plan for Tuesday. Danielle and I perused the Camden Markets and met up with LA so we could eat gourmet burgers together at Hache (Camden Town; Inverness Street). The market here was somewhat of a bust since all the clothes looked cheap and smelled like curry, but I did leave with a fun mint green and gold Juicy wallet.

We hopped on the tube and scooted over to the Portobello Road Markets. The boutiques and people were all so upbeat and warm! We stopped at the Hummingbird Bakery for cupcakes -->(http://www.hummingbirdbakery.com/flash.html. Found a really cute print of London at a tea shop, some earrings from Appletree Boutique, and a silk dress from a street vendor.

Wednesday, 8/1

Leanne, Colin, Evan and I went to Hyde Park today after I cruised around the Westminster area and looked into taking one of those cheesey bus tours. The bus tour thing was a no-go since we've already seen all the places the bus tours. Instead, we walked down the mall from Buckingham Palace through the Wellington Arch to get to the corner of Hyde Park. Luckily the weather was perfect today! The roses were in full bloom throughout the gardens. The four of us decided to rent a row boat and paddle along the Serpentine amongst the swans and weeping willow trees. This is probably the most peaceful and relaxing activity one can do in the city!

From there we walked down Picadilly Street over to Jubilee Gardens to meet up with our ISA facilitator and our group. We hopped on the London Eye- the largest ferris wheel in the world/ operated by British Airlines and came home early to do schoolwork.