Jenny is studying abroad in Bristol, which is a city in South West England. She attends the University of Bristol, which could very well double as Hogwarts.
I'm a wee bit envious of Jenny's experience because she is fully immersed in an English school, while LdM (the school I attend) is specifically for study abroad students. However, Jenny does have to live in a dorm with a bunch of "freshers." So for the first time in a while, I was grateful for my one-bathroom apartment! But I digress.
I arrived on Thursday and Jenny gave me a tour of the city. After, we got ready for what I deemed "One Night in Bristol 2010." I got to meet a lot of Jenny's friends, who were quite literally from all over the world! I hung out with people from Sweden, Austria, France, and of course, England and America. We hit up a LOT of bars and pubs, and had a great time dancing to songs that reminded me of high school prom. I was also introduced to cider, which is now officially a beverage of choice for me. Bristol is an awesome city, and I am glad I got to experience it from a "Uni" student's perspective!
The next day, Jenny's friend Presh was kind of enough to drive us to our hostel in London, where we would be staying for two days. Our hostel was called Palmer's Lodge and is in Swiss Cottage. I highly recommend it if you are traveling to London anytime soon. It has a wonderful staff, clean facilities, and is located very close to a tube station that can get you to central London quickly.
Our night out in London was memorable to say the least. We were recommended by the hostel to check out Piccadilly Circus for nightlife. So after our first tube ride (Can California please get a public transportation system like that? Kthanks.), we arrived and I couldn't believe where I was. Piccadilly is London's equivalent of Times Square in New York (I'm assuming, since I've never been there. Waaaah), and is the home of London's famous West End theater district. Being the Broadway nerd that I am, I just about died seeing all these theaters. My goal is to return here some day, and see a show. Maybe this new Phantom of the Opera sequel?
We weren't really sure how nightlife worked here, so we went into this lounge called Jet. I was prepared for a totally sober night when I read the menu and saw that drinks cost about 10 POUNDS EACH. Um, no. So after giving the club a few minutes, we were on our way out when a man offered to buy us drinks. And when I say man, I mean an old dude. We agreed, and he and his friends provided us and about 5 other girls with beverages throughout the night. I'd compare it to getting bottle service in Vegas. Sadly, I didn't find the British boy of my dreams, but some sugar daddy's in a club didn't seem like a bad solution at the time ;)
On Saturday, we planned on being ultimate tourists. Since I only had one full day in London, I just wanted to SEE things. I didn't need to go in them, because that would take too much time. So Jenny and I hopped on a double decker bus, and saw:
The London Eye (which we rode as well)
Big Ben and Parliament (My favorite)
Big Ben and Parliament (My favorite)
Westminster Abbey
Buckingham Palace
Baker Street
Tower of London
Tower Bridge
London Bridge (Not that cool)
And the London Dungeon, which is essentially just a Halloween Haunt-esque tourist trap. But fun none the less :)
Overall, it was SUCH a fantastic weekend. Jenny was a blast to travel with, and I wish I could have stayed longer! It is impossible to even dent London in a day, so I definitely plan on returning some day. That is, if I ever have money to again.
Sorry again for the long post...but I'm going to stop apologizing for that, cause people have told me they are actually reading this thing! That makes me so happy!!
This weekend I am staying in Florence, but in two weeks, I'm going to Vienna and Salzburg! Can you say, Sound of Music Sing-a-Long Tour? Ha!
Cheerio!
Kara
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