Notting Hill Gate

Alright. Ok. I am currently living in London and life is GRAND. I am truly blown away by this city and by this opportunity. How lucky am I?

I arrived early Tuesday morning at London Heathrow airport. I slept for 4-5 hours on my flight, which wasn't bad. After getting through customs and going to the airport currency exchange (Note: NEVER do that at the airport-they charge a service fee and the exchange rate is much higher! Wait until you can find a place with no service fee and a normal exchange rate.), I met up with the lovely Rebekah and several other girls doing the program. Bek and I were wearing almost the exact same hat...great minds truly do think alike.

Navigating the tube wasn't terrible-Bekah got us to the center safely. However, heaving all of my luggage through the bustling platforms and up and down stairs got old after about two minutes. Unfortunately, Notting Hill Gate may forever have a negative connotation in my mind...

We live in such a desirable area of the city. There is a cafe right around the corner entitled "Cafe Diana;" not because they are looking to use the icon, but rather, the icon herself visited this area of the city so frequently. We live in London, in the Westminster area, very near Kensington. The center itself is old; built in the 1800s, many of the features are the originals. The woodwork is lovely, and the stairs creak in a homey way as you make your trek to the summit.  I live in the attic at the center; to get there, you must go up 8 flights of stairs. By the time I get to the top, I am perspiring a titch and breathing embarrassingly heavily. But the view is lovely, and worth every step.

Here is my view from my room!

The front of the center

Tuesday was surreal; we set out to Hyde Park, just a hop, skip, and a couple jumps around the block. After wandering the paths through the vast greenery, moseying around Kensington Palace, stumbling upon the Hyde Park Chapel, hearing Paul Cardall compose music, and purchasing a lovely brownie sundae from Whole Foods, we made it back to the center, tired and with worn out feet.

We made it!!

Wednesday was spent doing our first "London Walks." It's a class in which we do different walks around London. And that's the class. Sweet, right? Our first walk was super easy; Bek and I had done most of it the night before when we were out exploring. We went with our new commrades, Emma and Austin. We stopped for Shawarma at a place called Taza right around the corner and took it to Hyde Park to eat. It was amazing!

Bek's doodle from class :)

Thursday was awesome; we did another London Walk. This one was entitled "Walking the Walls of Londinium." Also, we visited the National Portrait Gallery that night, which was very artsy-fartsy.

Father Thames 

 St. Olave's Church

This organ is inside of Christ's Church; Handel performed "The Hallelujah Chorus" on it! 

Queen Anne in front of St. Paul's Cathedral.

Maybe she feeds the birds?

We stumbled upon the movie premiere of "Legendary" starring Tom Hardy. Shameless selfie with where the actors would be walking to the movie a couple hours before they got there. 

Trafalgar Square 

Fascinators are fascinating at Spitalfield Market, no? 

"A major part of this area is generated by businessmen and businesswomen in dark suits, bustling around or huddled at the pubs, drinking ale and plotting their world-shaking stratagems." 

Friday was probably my favourite day of this week; Bek and I took off to do yet another one of our walks, "A Walk on the Wild Side: South of the Thames." This covered more of the iconic sites of London. So story; many of you probably saw my photo from Instagram/Facebook that said I showed my derriere to London...well. I most certainly did. It was super windy all day Friday; we were on London Bridge taking pictures when I noticed I got really cold really quickly. Then, I realized that it was my rear that was so chilly. Soon after, I discovered that a gust of wind had lifted my dress in the back who knows how long before. Thank goodness I was wearing tights! But still, it was rather embarrassing. Ah well. Should have saved it for Paris.

Tower Bridge! 

London is always better with a friend.

 I paused at one point to take a few pictures. When I turned around, this is what I saw.

She feels good about Fridays. 

Southwark (pronounced "suth-uck") Cathedral 

The large domed building is the top of St. Paul's. You can cross Millennial Bridge across the Thames, which takes you right to the cathedral. 

We have been in the habit of comparing ice cream prices around the city, because Bean and I quite enjoy ice cream and do not wish to break the bank on our first week here. We nearly died of laughter after reading the sign above the stairs up to the top of the bus..."Snoggers like it on top."

Admit: I cried a little bit when Big Ben came into view. I AM LIVING IN LONDON! 

Walking the streets of London with bubbles floating everywhere is magical-a missing chapter from Mary Poppins. 

Night at the Museum: Victoria and Albert Edition 

photo cred: Rebekah Cutler

How beautiful is this?

Saturday was a very chill day. After sleeping in unreasonably late, Bek, Austin, and I explored Portabello Road. They have this insane street market on Saturdays; street after street of antiques, jewelry, clothes, scarves, trite London souvenirs, hats, food, smells, and people. (This is where the movie "Notting Hill" took place. It's right off the Notting Hill Gate tube stop.)

My first falafel...I'm hooked! 

We just know inside that we are queens. And these are the crowns we wear.