Whilst I have free time…

Phew!! I have been in London for 4 days and have only now had the time to sit down and write a proper blog post. 
I’ve been having a pretty fun time, although I’ve been pretty busy with orientation for the University I’ll be attending, as well as spending a lot of time getting to know as much of the city as we can. I’d like to share with you

Things I’ve learned in London so far.

1. Flats can be kind of small, but are still cute.
I’m sharing my flat with two other girls from my school.  All the kids from LVC are in the same “complex”, although ours is separated from them by a courtyard. Here’s the outside of the flat.

Unlike the other flats, ours is three stories. Bedroom is on the ground floor,

[ We hadn’t unpacked yet at this point. ]

bathroom and living room on first floor,

 [The TV has 4 channels, and is turned on by pressing the power button, followed by the channel button…]

and the kitchen and another bathroom in the basement.

We love our flat :)

2. The Underground is really easy to use.
Here are some general observations about the tube system.
a. You must stand on the right side of the escalator, or else you will get run over.

[Ps. The escalators are also SUPER steep, especially in Kings Cross]

b. The temperature varies about 30 degrees between lines.
For instance, we have determined that the Victoria line is officially the hottest place on earth. It also happens to be the most crowded subway line on earth. Hence,

 [The only place Emily’s head fit was between Wes and Mark’s hands.]

However, there are other lines that are a little bit cooler in temperature,  sometimes because the ventilation windows are open. Hence,

[Emily experiencing her own person wind storm in the Circle line.]

c. Don’t EVER EVER take the steps at Russell Sq. station.
There are 162 steps. And they are spiraled.
Not fun.
3. Seeing a Twilight actor play acoustic in Hyde Park is awesome.
Jamie Campbell Bower, who has been in Sweeney Todd and is going to be in the upcoming New Moon and Harry Potter 7 movies has a band, The Darling Buds. Yesterday, I saw that he sent a tweet saying they’d be playing an acoustic set in Hyde Park that night at 7:30. So we went.

They played under a lamppost to about 50 people seated in the leaves/grass.
 

[The guy on the left is totes Jamie Campbell Bower.]

The whole thing was just really fun. It was something really unique and we would never have had the chance to do that anywhere at home. We were all really glad we went.
4. 20-year-olds still have fun with gummy worms.
Mark has basically been subsisting on the gummy worms his g-ma gave him before leaving, and was kind enough to share them on the boat tour on the River Thames (pronounced “Tems”).
5. London is just plain awesome.
As evidenced by the following.

Piccadilly Circus

Tower of London

Tower Bridge

 Parliament and Big Ben

 London Eye

Buckingham Palace

Tomorrow is a get schedule/relaxation day,  shopping at Oxford Circus on Saturday, and then planning on going to a street market on Sunday morning on Brick Lane. Until next time, cheerio!