On Thursday Rachel and I visited Molly's work to have a going away Barbecue! They made traditional hamburgers, although not the same as in the US. Molly and I had made Puppy Chow to surprise everyone with. The Brits went crazy for it! They kept asking how we made it and why it was called Puppy Chow. It was just as good as at home but the ingredients were SO hard to find. No chocolate chips, we got 'icing sugar,' not powdered, and we could only get wheat Chex or 'Shreddies' as the cereal is called here. Peanut butter is also not the same, it's much more grainy and less sweet. We decided to just hangout at our building with some other kids Thursday night to save our energy for the weekend.
Friday began with our lecture, and in the afternoon we took a trip to the Victoria and Albert museum!The museum is huge and beautiful, very overwhelming. We started first with the fashion area, which houses all kinds of beautiful clothing and shoes from world famous designers. We wandered around through sculptures, architecture exhibits, and through the medieval exhibits. I wish we were able to spend more time there because there are just so many things to see. Definitely one of my favorite museums!
Fashion
Hall with Sculptures
Afterwards we headed to high tea at the Mandeville Hotel. This was one of my favorite things we've done yet! The tea was amazing and the food was incredible. The tea had the famous scones, tea sandwiches and sweets of all sorts. We were so full by the end of the meal but we had a great time.
Tea:
From there we went extremely tourist and stopped at the London Eye before going home. We were lucky in that only four other people were in our little 'pod' on the ride up. Although Molly wasn't a fan of heights at the Eiffel Tower, this wasn't too bad. The view was awesome and we were at the top just as the sun began to set. I would definitely recommend it to anyone visiting London.
The Eye:
Hey London:
View of Big Ben!
Friday night after much debate we took the tube to Soho with no plans. Almost immediately we were befriended by some very fabulous men who insisted we accompany them to a bar called G-A-Y. We had such a fun time talking with them as we waiting in the ridiculous line but eventually we all gave up on getting in. We parted from our new friends and went into Bar Soho which looked really fun. We grabbed some drinks but the dance floor was really crowded so we went upstairs. Little did we know we had interrupted a 'Stag Do' or as we know it a Bachelor Party. Nothing crazy like you would imagine, just a group of friends drinking and making the bachelor collect ridiculous things while wearing a tutu and a fanny pack. Regardless, they were very entertaining and we had a lot of fun in Soho!
In Soho:
Rachel with the Groom-to-Be (Check out the tutu)
Saturday it was a struggle to wake up so early, but we were determined to make it to Windsor. After a quick train ride, we arrived! The castle grounds are huge! We stopped for lunch at a funny little place- The Crooked House of Windsor, which as you can imagine is crooked. Then it was off to the castle! The tickets came with an audio guide so we were able to learn about everything while walking around. There is so much to see inside between the State Apartments where official business is done to the Drawing Gallery which houses many famous drawings by Da Vinci and other famous works. We waited in quite a long line to see Queen Mary's doll house at the castle which was insane! A full sized person could stand inside the doll house, and it has full plumbing, electricity and even tiny paintings that were completed by famous artists!Further inside, we saw the halls where banquets are held by the Queen and lots of other amazing rooms. Afterwards we walked around in a market in Windsor and I tried a Cornish pastry- delicious.
Me with Guards:
Castle Grounds (No Pics allowed inside!)
The train back made us a bit tired but we had to wake up since we had planned on going to Mahiki! Like Boujis that we went to a few weeks ago, Mahiki is a very famous club in London, apparently frequented by many celebrities. If we saw any however- we didn't know it. All of the bar staff wear Hawaiian shirts and the drinks are as tropical as can be! One of Rachel's drinks even came in a pineapple! At first it was a bit awkward since in order to sit down, you had to have booked and paid for a table. As it got more crowded we headed to the dance floor downstairs. We had so much fun and the DJ played crazy music, from Twist and Shout to Sweet Child of Mine, and then the obvious club music. Although it was rather expensive, it was a blast!
At Mahiki:
Word to the wise; Make friends with those who have bought a table:
Sunday we had another trip planned to Oxford! This train experience wasn't as pleasant but eventually we arrived. One of Rachel's coworkers supplied us with a list of musts in Oxford so we started off at The Vaults, a restaurant inside St. Mary The Virgin Church. Since Oxford University isn't just one school, we didn't know where to start so we picked up a self-guided walking tour map from the Tourist Information center to begin. It was a pound very well spent. The 'tour' took us all around and I proclaimed myself tour guide, reading the info to everyone. All of the colleges have a different background and we were able to walk through a few of them during the tour! We got our typical Oxford University shirts and souvenirs and went on to Christ Church College and Cathedral, the big ticket stop. Many scenes in Harry Potter were filmed here so it was ridiculously busy with other tourists. The school and cathedral are beautiful and huge! Before we left, we went up into the extremely difficult tower of St. Mary the Virgin to catch a view of the city! Our trip to Oxford was so fun and I'm glad we spent our last weekend going on these day trips.
Lincoln College:
Harry Potter Great Hall
Actual Great Hall
Getting a great view of Oxford!
This week will be extremely packed! Tuesday we are seeing a show at The Globe, Thursday is our 'Farewell Party' and then Friday we are going to go out to a final dinner! I'm sure we'll find other little bits to squeeze in to make the most of our last week.
No comments:
Post a Comment