London Archive

Yes, we are here in London to study, and study we do. In fact, I just turned in a 20 page paper comparing the French and British political systems and governments for my poli sci class. But there are long weekends to be enjoyed as well, and this past weekend 2 friends and I spent 8 hours on a coach taking us out as far west into Wales as we could go. We stayed in Llandudno, a Victorian resort town on a tiny peninsula jutting out into the Irish sea. A day was spent in transit, a day exploring nearby Conwy Castle, a day in Snowdonia National Park, and a last day in transit home again. Along the way we got lost on a Welsh mountain in the …

Well, the long summer has finally drawn to a close for those of us in the Fall 2009 London off-campus program! Everyone else has been back on campus for a week already, but we leave for London the 10th and start classes the 14th. We’ll arrive at the Highbury Centre on Friday, get settled and then take a tour of the surrounding neighborhoods with our fearless leader Dr. Benedict. Saturday holds an extensive tour of London, and the first short paper due for those of us taking the Landscape and Literature course. Sunday will give us our first opportunity to visit local churches or perhaps somewhere as grand as St. Paul’s. Monday kicks off our school year with …

Even though London is one of the busiest cities in the world, it would be lying to say that we never have a dull moment. Here’s a little view into one of the slower-paced days of London FYHP.

In all honesty, we have days when the majority of our group will not set foot out of our HQ at the Highbury Centre and instead, just lounge around the building. These lazy, rainy days can be really nice though. Sometimes it’s great to just sit with your laptop and keep in touch with family and friends back home. . .at least until the internet suddenly cuts out or you realize the futility of Facebook and the fact that you haven’t talked to another human being in 2 hours (no, IM doesn’t count). …

So I went and saw the musical Wicked the other night and it was absolutely phenomenal!! But here’s a little background story first…

After going to bed at around 1AM on Friday night, I dragged myself out of bed at about 4:30 AM to go with Amanda and Kristina to wait in line for tickets for the show. But these weren’t just any tickets. After 4 hours of waiting on the cold steps in front of the Apollo Victoria Theatre in the chilly, nose-numbing early-morning air, the three of us walked away with front row tickets for Wicked for only 25L, the equivalent of about $50 in the States. In my opinion, it was a steal, because the show was totally worth …

We had an absolutely smashing time on our excursion this week. We took the train from Paddington Station early Monday morning and returned the next evening after soaking up (haha, “soaking up”…get it? Bath? haha) all the history and beauty that makes Bath such a fascinating place.

Bath is centered around the ancient Roman baths that make this city so famous. The natural hot springs that feed the baths were enjoyed by the Celtic people of the region long before the Romans came and conquered the land. With their extraordinary engineering skills, the Romans built their elaborate bath complex around the hot springs, complete with saunas, cold plunge pools, massage rooms, drainage systems, changing rooms, and the magnificent Great Bath which was basically a large swimming pool.

The baths were dedicated …