Adventures in London

Hey guys, it's been a while.

Last Saturday I left for London with my Children in a Multicultural Context class.  We arrived at 10am, dropped off our bags at the hotel, grabbed lunch, and visited a really cool adventure playground called Glamis. It is not in the best part of town, but kids of all backgrounds are allowed to come play and build and make friends under adult supervision.
 That night we went out  to dinner at an Indian food place, where the tables are double decker with a ladder for the waitresses to use.  It was delicious and super cool.  We then walked to the London Eye, where we saw beautiful views of London at night.  Having woken up at 4:30, I was ready for bed, especially because myself and another girl got lost and had to find our way back in the rain.

Day 2, we had breakfast at the hotel then left on a bus and walking tour of London.  We stopped at Tower Bridge, where we took lots of photos and saw the bridge lift to let a boat pass under, which only happens once or twice a year.  We stopped at Parliament and Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, and St. Paul's Cathedral.  After this we had lunch and shopped on our own in Brick Lane, Whitechapel and met at the Freud museum after.  That night was for sure my favorite night of the trip, because my friends Patti, Jeff, Lena, and Trisha went through Covent Garden and SoHo and found a lovely little Italian place called Melanie's, where we ate delicious pasta, then we enjoyed London at night in Trafalgar Square.  It was so nice to spend time with such great people in one of my favorite places on Earth.

Day 3 was a long one.  After breakfast we walked from Barbican to Brick Lane because the tubes were on strike.  We visited the East London Acedemy in the London Muslim Center, and the mosque within.  I learned a lot about Islam, more than I had before, and though I didn't believe it or agree with it all, it was interesting to see another worldview.  Then, we went back to Brick Lane for Iranian food, and I picked up some fried dough, yummy. After lunch we went to an amazing school in the center of London where we got to see first-hand how the British school system deals with integration (much more gracefully and effectively than in Denmark).  I loved that school and I wanted to send my kids there. Who knows, maybe I will.  Finally, in our last scheduled visit of the day, we went to a Bollywood dance workshop where we learned a dance to Jai Ho, the song from Slumdog Millionaire.  It was more tiring than I realized and we were all ready for showers afterwards.  But, Lena and I had tickets for Les Miserables, so we got all pretty in the locker room (as pretty as we could get with how sweaty we were, haha), then went to grab dinner (yogurt and granola and coffee) then to the show!  The first half of the show was incredible, but as I had had a headache for most of the day and had taken the last of my packed ibuprofen a few days before, I was nauseous and miserable the 2nd half.  I still enjoyed the show, but it got to the point where I just needed to go home and sleep.

Day 4
We were originally going to go to Kensington to see the Princess Diana Memorial Playground, but we weren't allowed in, so we went to the Palace just to see the gardens, then we split off into separate groups.  My group was supposed to go to Notting Hill. And we did, just not the part I wanted to see, so I separated from the group and went on my way, while they went shopping.  First, I took the tube from Notting Hill to Oxford Street, where all the shopping is, then I made my way back through SoHo and Covent Garden, sitting when I wanted to and going where I pleased, stopping wherever I saw fit.  I found some cool shops in SoHo and a really nice park where I sat for a while.  Then I ended up in Leicester Square area where I visited the National Gallery, which is incredible.  After that, I found a Pret a Manger (Ready to Eat - a cafe place with fresh, ready-made food and drink that I love) and took it to eat in Trafalgar Square.  After lunch I set off towards St. James' Park, where I meandered around and took photos and sat and just enjoyed the park.  After spending some time in the park, I walked up the Mall and through to Piccadilly Circus, then all the way down Piccadilly.  On my way I found a nice little antique market where I picked up a fabulous little teacup for 5 pounds, then sat in a cafe for some tea down the street.  Finally, before meeting up with the group, I took the tube to Bromley to Normand Park, which was a nice park in a not-so-nice area.  It wasn't a bad area by any means, but it wasn't great either, so I just took some photos and took the train back.  We all at Chinese food in Leicester Square then went to Avenue Q which was incredibly funny and inappropriate.  After the show, Jeff, Trisha, Alice, Bailey, and I went back to Trafalgar Square, then to Buckingham Palace to see it at
night.

After my day alone in the city I felt so connected to it and so at home that I felt that someday I have to live in London, even if only for a year or so.  It's an amazing place and my favorite in the world, even still after spending 6 days there.  Most people missed Copenhagen, but I didn't.  Perhaps it's because I don't spend enough time in the city, which my new close friends are going to help me with I think. :)

Day 5
We had 3 visits on day 5, starting with a trip to Greenwich for a visit to the Royal Observatory and Meridian line.  The only problem was, we got there at 8:30 and it didn't open until 10:00, and it was pouring in true London fashion.  So we were a little pissed that we had to wake up so early and stay out in the rain, even if the views were cool.  After touring the museum, we started walking down, planning to go to one of the other museums for lunch.  On our way down we were discussing  how crappy the morning had been and a nice British lady who was walking her dog told us that Johnny Depp was in town filming Pirates of the Caribbean 4 and she told us how to get to the set at the Royal Naval College.  We wandered around seeing lots of trailers and some people dressed as pirates, though no Johnny Depp, until we stopped in front of one gate where you could see through a bit of the tarp.  We saw someone dressed as Jack Sparrow, but we weren't sure if it was him, and he heard us and turned around and smiled and waved at us, and we knew it was really Johnny! :D  It was awesome.  Then we went to the National Maritime Museum for lunch, then to our next visit to Mulgrave Early Child Center.  It was so great to interact with kids who I could speak English to!  I had so much fun!!  Then we went to the Charlton Athletic Race Equality Center, which is dedicated to community cohesion and outreach through sports.  For dinner we had fish and chips at the tavern next to the movie set, and for dessert delicious cheesecake.  Then Trisha, Alice and I walked along the Thames and headed back to the hotel to pack.

Day 6
We went to the Natural History Museum to observe teachers guiding their students through the museum.  Then we left for lunch at a pub, it was roast chicken, peas, and chips, followed by apple pie.  We wrapped up the trip then were left for 2 more hours of free time.  During this time, I went off alone again back to some antique book shops I found on Charing Cross Rd in the Leicester Square area.  I went into one shop that had been in operation since 1855.  There I bought a copy of Elizabeth Gaskell's novel, Cranford, from 1898!  It is in such good condition and I was so excited.  Then I grabbed a latte at the cafe across the street and sat for a while until I went back to the hotel to get ready to go.  When the bus got there, we had a 2 hour ride, so we watched what else, but Pirates of the Caribbean 3.  We got to the airport and they made me check my umbrella, which came back to me broken :(  We grabbed dinner and snacks, but by the time we were done doing that we had to run to the gate because it was final boarding call.  I thought I was going to die I was so scared.  I made it though, and finally got home about 12:30am, skyped my boyfriend for a couple hours, then went to bed and woke up this morning at 1pm.  I was so exhausted.

Sorry about the long post, but a lot happened.  If you got this far I'm impressed