February 14th-15th
Ah the wonders of Megabus. I took an overnight one to
London, and while it wasn’t the worst night of my life (that would be the night I spent at an airport), it was pretty close to it. I arrived in London groggy and
disoriented, and in dire need of a bathroom- I try to avoid the ones on the bus
if possible- and of course, when I find the bus station bathroom, I realize
they charge you for it! Welcome to London.
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| Neat seating in Camden Market |
My friend Emily from Cornell found me at the station and
after putting my bags down in her flat, we toured the city: Big Ben, the London
Eye, Camden Market, and ended the night with a fish and chips dinner with
another friend from Cornell at a cute pub.
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| View of Big Ben from across the river |
February 16th
We went to London Fashion Week! I really am not qualified
enough to talk about fashion week, or even fashion in general. But I can tell
you what I saw, which would be a collection of the most bizarre outfits, hair,
and accessories I have probably ever seen. Clearly, I was out of place. But it
was neat to go because it’s something I never thought I would do.
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| Emily and I at Fashion Week! |
Later that
night, we went on a late night snack run and cooked pizzas in a pitch black
kitchen because someone had blown the fuse earlier. It doesn’t get much more
college than that!
February 17th
Off to Oxford! On the bus ride there, instead of the usual
grumbly announcements from the bus driver, I was treated to a violin playing
softly in the background and a prerecorded message announcing departures and
arrivals. Oxford would. Once there, I met up with Dave, another friend from
Cornell. Dave didn’t waste any time- after a proper English breakfast (which
just means they fry everything) we went right to walking around. By the end of
the day, we had probably gone five miles or so- I was exhausted but we had seen
nearly everything!
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| One of the colleges at Oxford |
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| Dave and I at Christ Church, one of the oldest colleges in Oxford |
Oxford is made up of over thirty colleges within the
university, and each college has its own dorms, dining hall, classrooms, etc.
So there was a lot to see. Some colleges even have walking paths, lakes, rivers…
it’s all a little excessive, but really beautiful because everything is so well
taken care of. On one of the paths we were on in the woods, we witnessed a
proposal!
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| How gorgeous is this? The rowing team practices on this river |
Later that night, we went to a formal dinner in a Hogwarts-style
dining hall.
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| A church in one of the colleges |
February 18th
Dave had class this morning so with map and camera in hand,
I went for an early morning run. I hadn’t woken up early in ages and forgot how
pretty the morning is when the sun has recently risen and dew still covers the
grass. On the path I ran on, there was a guy with a radio playing music and cheering the runners on- he even kept track of how many laps I did! It was slightly creepy, but mostly really nice :) I felt like one of the locals, it was pretty neat.
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| The park that I ran in |
After my run, I climbed up a viewing tower in a church and got a great view of the entire city, and then explored a botanic garden. For the first time in a while, it felt like spring! At one point, I was walking on a city street, the sun streaming down on me, a street performer playing a happy tune, and I couldn't help but smile to myself. Normally, I never give money to street performers because I would be broke if I gave to all of them but this guy made me so happy that I turned around and walked back to drop some change in his hat.
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| View of the street from the tower |
Dave and I met up for lunch at a pub so good and so cheap that I kept thinking something had to go wrong, but it really was the perfect place! After walking around in awe for a few more hours, I boarded a bus back to the big city.
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| View of one of the colleges |
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