Cheers!

Greetings from London! I arrived in Chelsea, a posh suburb of London, on the morning of August 29th, completely exhausted, excited, and not just a little bit nervous. It was a truly bizarre feeling--leaving my mom and Marc behind in the airport, embarking on a journey to another country completely alone. I felt detached from myself, not wanting to realize just what was happening, just how far I was traveling from everything familiar for fear of being overwhelmed by it all. The flight is a blur, though I remember the food well, and not fondly. Regardless, London's Gatwick airport greeted me at last.
I wish I could explain how instant the realization is that you're in another country. I suppose London isn't all that much different from home or anywhere else in the states, but regardless of how similar it looks, it feels different. You know it's different. I knew it for sure when I saw a vending machine in the airport and didn't recognize a single item for sale. It's stranger than it sounds.
Anyway, I've been here for three days now, and I've seen and done so much that I couldn't possibly fit it all into this one entry. I've finally gotten the chance to sit down and figure out how to post pictures here, so I'm giving it my best shot. I figure I'll probably use this as a photo journal. If you're interested, you can look at my pictures and I'll post little blurbs with each one explaining what it is. I've done several touristy things so far-- a walking tour, a boat tour, and a bike tour, which was particularly unforgettable-- but I've found that it's the little quirks of London that are the most endearing. Hopefully I'll be able to snap some pictures of those things (like prawn flavored crisps), but for now I've got a bunch of shots from the walking tour we went on yesterday. And by the way, everyone in my group is great. They're all really fun, wonderful people, and I'm having a blast with them (though I would love to make some British friends, which may be hard in such a wealthy little town).
Without further ado, here are some of the best photos I came back with yesterday. But just remember--the pictures don't do London justice at all. And that's why everyone should come visit me. Yes? :)


This is the sign for the tube, otherwise known as the London underground. I took this picture after my first tube experience. Since then, I've traveled on it quite a lot, and it's really very easy and so convenient. Gettysburg was kind enough to buy us all Oyster cards which get us on the tube and any bus absolutely free. How lovely of them.

When I saw this view of the Tower of London as I stepped out of the tube station at Tower Hill, I realized for the first time that I was truly in London, England. You certainly don't see this everywhere. Many people, including criminals and royalty, were executed, usually beheaded, within the walls of the London Tower. Now it's mostly a tourist museum. The place is absolutely massive; I can't even describe the size. There's an enormous mote around the tower that has been drained. We were told very nasty things once bobbed around in that mote--things so nasty our guide wouldn't even mention them.

This is the Tower Bridge opening to let a boat pass through. Apparently this is a rare sight these days, and we were lucky to have caught it. In the past, the bridge would open several times a day, but water traffic has since died down. There are pedestrain walkways on either side of the bridge which used to go up so often that they actually built a path across the top, because it was faster to walk all the way up, across and down than it was to wait for the boats to pass through.

The London Eye, right on the River Thames. One full turn takes about 30 minutes. You can see 25 miles in all directions!

The obligatory red telephone booth picture. Caroline and I felt pretty bad after we realized the creepy man watching us was really just waiting to make a call.

Here is Shakespeare's Globe Theater along the River Thames. We'll be seeing a play here at some point. The original building was in a slightly different location, but it burnt down several times (by accident and then it was lit afire by the Puritans who thought the content of the plays immoral). Apparently this is an exact replica.

To the right is Westminster Abbey, where Princess Diana's funeral was held. It's a beautiful building, and apparently it's worth a trip inside. Hopefully I will get a chance to explore at some point, or at least hear the evensong for free on a Sunday.

To be continued!

Baggage-- symbolic or just a pain in the neck?

I've begun packing for England, and I have to admit that I'm having an odd sort of emotional reaction. Instead of folding sweaters and deciding (reluctantly) which shoes to stuff into the bottom of my suitcase and which to leave behind in the closet, I've just finished creating a sappy playlist for my Danny on iTunes. I'm hoping he'll listen to it while I'm away, think of me and cry hysterically.

I heard a great lyric on 88.5 WXPN today. It was from a new song by The Long Winters, and it said something like, "You've weighed down your suitcase, but it still won't sink." I don't know why, but it stuck with me.

I'm off to sort travel sized toiletries and ponder the size of my carry-on luggage. Cheers!