London, Part 1
I made my first trip out of Ireland this weekend to visit London, where I stayed with my friend Kevin who is in the BU-London program. Friday was spent entirely in transit, with a class trip to Belfast (which I'll get to discussing in a few days) from 8am, returning at 8pm, when the bus actually dropped me off at the airport before bringing everyone else home, a 10 pm flight out of Dublin, arriving at 11 pm in Luton, which is about an hour outside of London....this could have been a potential disaster, but luckily I have my mom's sense of direction.
After bussing into Central London from the airport, I made my way to another bus stop that would get me to South Kensington, which is where the BU housing is. I kid you not, I walk across the street to catch the bus and my friend Alyce is standing right in front of me, on her way back to the SAME building I'm going to. London is a huge program from BU, so there were a lot more familiar faces, but it was nice running into Alyce no less than an hour after I had landed.
Kevin lives in a flat with many other people, some I knew already, some I know now. Laurie and Jenna from my advertising classes were sitting in the kitchen as soon as I walked in, and I met these 2 guys from SMG, Hardik and Jason (who, turns out, lives ON MY FLOOR back in Boston).
Kevin and I had a lot of fun seeing all there is to see in London, as South Kensington is really a prime location, within walking distance from Royal Albert Hall, Harrod's, Hyde Park, and Buckingham Palace (Long walks, but it was nice out). He's been there for a month and hadn't seen a lot of it, so I didn't feel too bad dragging him around.
I will say, the London Transport system is phenomenal. The tube and bus network runs so often and is so easy to navigate, it made the massive size of the city not seem so unconquerable.
From Buckingham, we walked towards the river, where we found Westminster, Parliament, and Big Ben. We also found about 5000 New Zealanders, on the square in front of Parliament, performing some wierd annual rugby ritual, that involved dancing without clothes, drinking beer in tree branches, and releiving oneself on a church. Even I wouldn't do that. I think.
After wandering around for a bit, we walked to Trafalger Square where we stopped to have some dinner. It was a small restaurant where you end up sitting inches from the people next to you, forced to make friends, and I found myself in a conversation with the couple next to us, an older man and a middle-aged woman who had just come from the theatre. Obviously we had a lot to talk about. Theatre, school, London, Dublin, New York, the place of modern art when compared to the classics, career, family, food. I know I've said this a hundred times over, but I really just love talking to new people.
A few little details: I saw a Duck Tour in London, never expected to see one outside of Boston. Same dumb looking boat-car, just with the wheel on the right. Found a CHEERS, also not something I expected. But hey, sometimes, I guess, you want to go where everybody knows your name. Saw the EVAN family crest in the bookshop at Westminster, resembles the Peugeot symbol. My name is Welsh. Who knew.
After dinner, we headed back to South Kensington, where we made plans for the evening. Me, Kevin, and some of his roommates went into Soho to a bar called, aptly, The Soho. Small, cozy, all 90s rap and hip-hop which was unexpected, but kind of entertaining. Anyway, headed home not too late, ready for a full Sunday, details to follow in part 2....
After bussing into Central London from the airport, I made my way to another bus stop that would get me to South Kensington, which is where the BU housing is. I kid you not, I walk across the street to catch the bus and my friend Alyce is standing right in front of me, on her way back to the SAME building I'm going to. London is a huge program from BU, so there were a lot more familiar faces, but it was nice running into Alyce no less than an hour after I had landed.
Kevin lives in a flat with many other people, some I knew already, some I know now. Laurie and Jenna from my advertising classes were sitting in the kitchen as soon as I walked in, and I met these 2 guys from SMG, Hardik and Jason (who, turns out, lives ON MY FLOOR back in Boston).
Kevin and I had a lot of fun seeing all there is to see in London, as South Kensington is really a prime location, within walking distance from Royal Albert Hall, Harrod's, Hyde Park, and Buckingham Palace (Long walks, but it was nice out). He's been there for a month and hadn't seen a lot of it, so I didn't feel too bad dragging him around.
I will say, the London Transport system is phenomenal. The tube and bus network runs so often and is so easy to navigate, it made the massive size of the city not seem so unconquerable.
From Buckingham, we walked towards the river, where we found Westminster, Parliament, and Big Ben. We also found about 5000 New Zealanders, on the square in front of Parliament, performing some wierd annual rugby ritual, that involved dancing without clothes, drinking beer in tree branches, and releiving oneself on a church. Even I wouldn't do that. I think.
After wandering around for a bit, we walked to Trafalger Square where we stopped to have some dinner. It was a small restaurant where you end up sitting inches from the people next to you, forced to make friends, and I found myself in a conversation with the couple next to us, an older man and a middle-aged woman who had just come from the theatre. Obviously we had a lot to talk about. Theatre, school, London, Dublin, New York, the place of modern art when compared to the classics, career, family, food. I know I've said this a hundred times over, but I really just love talking to new people.
A few little details: I saw a Duck Tour in London, never expected to see one outside of Boston. Same dumb looking boat-car, just with the wheel on the right. Found a CHEERS, also not something I expected. But hey, sometimes, I guess, you want to go where everybody knows your name. Saw the EVAN family crest in the bookshop at Westminster, resembles the Peugeot symbol. My name is Welsh. Who knew.
After dinner, we headed back to South Kensington, where we made plans for the evening. Me, Kevin, and some of his roommates went into Soho to a bar called, aptly, The Soho. Small, cozy, all 90s rap and hip-hop which was unexpected, but kind of entertaining. Anyway, headed home not too late, ready for a full Sunday, details to follow in part 2....
posted by Evan at 4:34 PM
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