I decided to combine these last three weeks since as the semester nears the end, it seems that I am doing less exploring London and more course work.
Two weeks ago, I was able to visit and experience Oxford with some friends. Once we arrived, we met with a tour guide who was able to give us a thorough walk through and a lot of information about the University. As we were walking through the town, our guide explained how there are actually 38 different colleges all under the larger umbrella of the University of Oxford. These colleges are where the students live and receive academic guidance but they still take courses with students from the other colleges. I like to think about it like these colleges are the different houses at Hogwarts. Maybe in another life, I will attend Oxford.
The Christ Church in Oxford was actually used as the inspiration for the Great Hall at Hogwarts. There were many scenes throughout the eight films that were filmed on the campus. One of my favorite aspects of Oxford was the architecture of the buildings. Though this may be a cliche, I was inspired by them. The buildings were old stone that was reminiscent of castles. There was so much character and history in each of the buildings and it was obvious that the town was proud. Luckily for us, we happened to be visiting on a unique day. Not only was it degree day but the colleges were all competing in a rowing competition against one another. Degree day, if I remember correctly, occurs three times a year and is the day where the new graduates participate in a ceremony and receive their degrees. The rowing competition, however, is more rare since it occurs only twice a year. The entire town almost seemed to have a physical buzz flowing through it with excitement. After our tour, we knew that we had to head down to the river to watch the competition. After trial and error, we finally found the perfect place with a perfect view of the River Thames. It was great to be a part of the excitement and to pretend that I was an Oxford student.
Last Tuesday, I decided to finally head to the Notting Hill area. I have seen so many beautiful pictures and wanted to see the area for myself. I did not go with a route in mind so I only saw a small portion of this neighborhood. I actually ended up stumbling upon Kensington Palace; one of the residences of the Royal Family. I walked the grounds, took some pictures, and continued into the gardens. There is a large man-made pond with swans, ducks, and other water birds. I cannot describe how this place made me feel. It was the most calm I have felt since arriving in London. The beautiful weather could have had something to do with it as well. I walked around the pond and made friends with a few of the swans.
After the gardens, I walked a couple blocks to go to the Science Museum. I was mainly interested in their space exhibit. I wanted to see what objects they have on display and spent the majority of my time at the museum there. I was impressed with the amount of large pieces they have. It was pretty amazing that most of them were from past NASA missions rather than ESA (European Space Agency) missions. I only stayed for as long as my feet could hold out. I had been walking all day and had to quickly give them a rest. The next day I had my first experience with Traditional Afternoon Tea. A friend and I went to the Wallace Collection and got to choose a tea from a long list. We got a platter of many delicious treats to snack on with our tea. The whole thing was very filling and I felt extremely posh after.
This last week, I was able to walk a little more around London as I am trying to do as much of that as possible. Last Friday, I went to the Supreme Court with my Parliament class. Unfortunately, they don’t hear any cases on Fridays, but we were still able to walk around and see the different court rooms. Being empty actually gave me the opportunity to take pictures at the Justice’s benches so I didn’t mind too much. It was really interesting to see the similarities and differences to our own justice system.
Later in the evening, I planned on attending a University-wide St. Patrick’s day party. The University’s women’s and men’s varsity rugby teams had both competed earlier in the day and both won, so the party doubled as a celebration of St. Patrick’s day and the two wins. I went on my own with the intention of meeting new people there and started the night really wonderfully. I met some nice people and danced a lot of the night with these new friends. Unfortunately, as I was leaving, my purse was taken off my shoulder in the process of making my way through the thick crowd. I quickly realized it was not with me anymore and started searching the crowds and the ground as best I could while avoiding getting hit by dancing people. When I realized I would not be able to find it on my own I approached security. They were very kind to the panicking girl (me) in front of them. Just as I was about to give up and leave, they found me and told me they had found it on the Mezzanine level; emptied out. The only things that were missing were a couple of US and UK dollars as well as my bus pass. I was extremely relieved. I don’t think I have ever felt more relieved in my life. All of my cards will be replaced to be safe but I am glad nothing else was taken. It was a night I definitely will never forget. And though it had a rocky bit in the middle, I still had a great time and can already tell that I have learned so much about life and myself these past months in London. I am so grateful to have had this opportunity to study here. I truly, truly am. Thank you to everyone who helped make this dream of mine come true.
Here’s to hoping for no more blog delays! Be prepared for a lot of pictures!
Ta ta,
Kaitlin
Kaitlin's Space 