Busy life in London

The past two days, just like this whole week have been crazy! It is nice that our program has a lot planned for us, but it gets quite exhausting! It is a little sad that I am excited for class to start on Monday because life might slow down a little.  I am getting more used to life here, and may have started to master the public transportation.  It is amazing to see how many people rely on public transportation every day, while I barely even see busses in Wisconsin.

Yesterday, I woke up bright and early to catch the bus to Hampton Court.  Through the program I am with, we have a few day trip options, some of which are included in the price and some that you can pay extra for.  Either way, it is a really good way to find out more about the country and see exciting things.  This tour was interesting because it started with the bus ride there.  On the way, the tour guide told us about the history of the Palace and how it came to be.  The ride was about 1.5 hours, so we got in a lot of information before even seeing the Palace.  This was much more in the county, and at the time was obviously even more far out.  This was clearly a vacation paradise for the kings and their families.  Hampton Court is most famous for being the residence for King Henry VIII.  He is known for having six wives.  Even though he lived there, other royalty did as well, and they all added to the structure and its grounds.  After visiting, I can now see why it is called Hampton Court, because there are numerous courtyards throughout the property.  The Palace had over 200 staff members and could accomodate over 280 guests at the same time, all of which having their own rooms with fireplaces and bathrooms.  Some of the students didn't like this trip as much because there was a lot of history along with it, but I personally enjoyed it a lot.  I think I chose the right place to study because I am really interested in history, especially dealing with the royal family.

Today was also an exciting day.  We were assigned groups to go on scavenger hunts, and had a list of places to go.  My group had the retail district, which I wasn't upset about.  It was fun to get paired with people I haven't been able to talk to much, I really enjoy everyone here on the trip.  We got to see some really cool stores, which I plan to go back to later.  We went into a department store called Harrod's, which was the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen.  This is the most high class store I have ever been in, I was in the jewelry section and saw a necklace that would be the equivalent of around $170,000.  The store was also probably the largest store I have ever been in, with at least 5 restaurants and even an ice cream parlor.  We finished early, and sat in Hyde Park for about an hour.

Hampton Court

Hyde Park

Hampton Court

Harrod's 

Classes start on Monday, which I am excited about, and nervous as well.  I hope the British classes aren't too much different than what I am used to, but I am excited to see what their classes may be like. I am trying to get a website up to show more pictures of my adventures, but have been having some difficulties. I will let you all know as soon as that is figured out.  Although the pictures don't do it justice, you will have more of an idea of what I have been able to experience so far!