The Thames River Tour and a Glimpse of Greenwich

Sunday morning we went on a River Cruise on the Thames as part of our final orientation activities.  Despite the bitter cold, it was actually a lot of fun, and I took a way a lot about London as both a city and a culture.

We started off across the street from the Westminster tube station, and got on the boat right across from the London eye and the National Aquarium.

I wanted to sit on the open upper level of the boat, but unfortunately that meant that the seats were a lot colder and also wet.  My cold legs and face would've suggested otherwise, but it was worth being able to take some really awesome pictures.  

The London Eye is actually London's most popular and most profitable tourist attraction, and they started letting people get married in some of the carriages.  You can have up to 25 other people, and it takes about 30 minutes to get to the top of it, and when you're at the very top of the Eye, they stop the wheel so you can kiss.

Probably the thing that I took away most from the tour was that London has loads of bridges.  Bridges everywhere.

Apparently, this bridge was built after the older bridge (that looked exactly like this one, but was just a few meters away from it) started corroding and then it was deemed unsafe.

From the Thames I got to see Shakespeare's Globe (arguably the highlight of my week).  The Globe is actually a recreation of the original Globe, which burned down a few blocks away from where the new Globe was built.  Titus Andronicus is playing there at the end of April and I've never wanted to see a production so badly in my life.

Typically, London Bridge and Tower Bridge get switched around (Tower Bridge is the one with the two towers) and my favorite story about London Bridge is how a guy from Arizona decided that he was wealthy enough to buy London Bridge, and London took it down block by block and shipped it to Arizona, and when it was rebuilt, the man who bought it was really mad that he had purchased London Bridge, because he was expecting Tower Bridge.  

Besides the bridges, I also learned that if you ever want to make money in London, all you need to do is invest in one of Britain's wartime boats and anchor them on the Thames, and then turn them into riverside pubs.  Apparently it's a massive trend.

The Tower of London

Tower Bridge

One of Britain's naval ships

After the boat cruise we ended up in Greenwich, which is the coolest area I've been to so far.  We wandered down to the market which is much less crowded and had better stalls than Borough Market (which I visited the day before).  

Greenwich Market definitely had an eclectic selection of food, and most of it was reasonably priced (and looked freaking delicious).

Portuguese stews

After the market, I met my friend at the National Maritime Museum, and we ended up going to a local pub for lunch.  Greenwich was definitely an awesome area, and I'm looking forward to visiting again in the warmer weather.

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Wordless Wednesday #1

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Heathrow Airport: A Travel Companion Guide

Dedicated to Aimee who wants to be super prepared for arriving in London in a few weeks. 

The monitors on the plane had an option to track your flight across the Atlantic

My plane hit the runway around 9:45 AM, London time, which gave me around two and a half hours to catch a bus.  I didn't get off the plane until about 10:00 AM, and that was only because I was pretty close to the boarding door.  One great thing about Heathrow Airport is that the signage is spectacular.

I followed the yellow signs all the way to baggage reclaim.  Also, it helped to pick a few people out that you know were in your flight because I also followed them to baggage claim as well.

Now, my program said that I would have to present my visa information to the people working at customs, but the Heathrow Airport website said I would go through border control first, then go to baggage reclaim, and finally head through customs.

I get to border control and the only people in front of me were people from my flight, which was awesome because it meant I didn't need to wait in line that long.  The man asked me for my passport and landing card, then asked me a series of questions.  I told him I was studying abroad for the semester and he asked to see a letter from the school, so I showed him the visa request form Arcadia had mailed us.

He let me through pretty quickly, but the poor man next to me was almost being emotionally tormented by the woman checking his passport.  I guess it depends on who was letting you through the border (although Aimee, I probably wouldn't worry about it too much, it was pretty simple and straightforward).

One cool thing about the time change was seeing the "sunrise" from the air

Then I headed to baggage reclaim which was immediately around the corner.  This took me what felt like a slice of forever because my bag was one of the last bags out of the plane and onto the carousel. I waited for almost thirty minutes for my bag to get through.

My program made it sound as though customs was going to be a hassle, but it was literally just walking down a designated pathway and under a green sign and through a passage way into the terminal.

Finally, I was through and ready to make my way to Terminal 3.  According to my arrival guide, I was supposed to meet Arcadia staff at the International Arrivals section of Terminal 3.  This meant that I followed more signs to the Heathrow Express Train stop which was under ground.  (Aimee, take the elevators, they will save your life)

(Also, get a trolley, because I didn't get one until ten feet before I met up with my group but you should get one as soon as you get to baggage reclaim because you will be walking EVERYWHERE around the airport, it's just a lot easier and I wish I had done that sooner.)

The Heathrow Express Train either takes you to Terminals 1, 2, and 3, or it takes you directly into London, so make sure you get on the right track.  It's the right track if you don't need to pay to get through.

When I got off the express shuttle, I followed more signs to Terminal 3, and ended up taking an elevator (or lift, in London) to outside of Terminal 3.  The Arrivals section was the farthest building away from me but it was clearly labeled, and I met my group pretty close to the door.

All in all, Heathrow Airport is humungous and frightening but not the least bit confusing.  They do a fantastic job of telling everyone where to go.

Casually flying over Ireland

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Airports Should Have Free Wifi

(Actually, free wifi should be everywhere, but that’s a story for another day)

I say this because at this moment I am sitting at my gate (B35 Terminal 4 of JFK Airport) two hours before my plane takes off and I keep turning on my laptop magically expecting the little wifi icon to appear with full bars, but so far this hasn’t happened yet so I am left to write this in a word document.

My airport adventure was not as terrible as I expected.  The baggage check and security lines were longer than I am used to (I was the first and only person in line for GSO security the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, which was borderline freaky).  My checked bag was a mere 5 pounds over the weight limit so I had to pay an extra $100.  Checking an extra bag would’ve cost $85.

Only a single file line at security

5 pounds overweight hollaaa

I’m really not as nervous as I expected to be.  I keep stating that the only thing I’m really nervous about is making it through Heathrow airport and switching terminals, but I already wrote a whole post on my nerves for that so I won’t bore you with repeating the same worries again.

Snippets of what I’m looking forward to in the next week:

• Moving into my flat
• Taking a tour of some London landmarks
• Finally finding out what classes I'm taking
• Warmer weather than New York
• Getting my schedule so I can plan future trips
• Taking tons of photos

Airport selfie life

At this time, I would like to thank the people of JFK Airport for keeping me entertained, from the women trying to rescue her cat-like dog into it’s carrier, to the two kids were matching checkered button-down shirts chasing each other on the moving walkways, to the man across from me doing Tai Chi.

The plane has arrived

(Update: I'm posting this now that I have access to wifi, and I'm already moved in!  More soon.)

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Anxiously Awaiting Arrival

4 AM found me lying in bed by the glow of my phone, looking up maps of Heathrow Airport.

I woke up to a bad dream that had me arriving in London.  In my dream, I managed to get on and off the plane without a hitch.  However, that was the end of my good luck streak.  Let's recap:

• At baggage claim there were 4 purple suitcase that looked exactly like mine, and the turnstile was going too fast so it was completely impossible to grab my bag. 
• The Customs line (or queue, as it's called in London) was snaked around so many corners that I could not see the end or the beginning of it. 
• Somehow we managed to find the trains to get in between terminals, but the staircase going to the underground trains (why they were underground, I don't know) was like the staircase that descends into hell--it was pitch black save for a few solo lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling by their wires, the steps were slippery because the ceiling was leaking, but there was no railing and we had to carry our baggage as well, so basically it was a lost cause.  
• After much hassle and stress we got to the platform and I looked at a map on the wall and decided that I needed to get on a 7, 8, or 9 train, but the only trains coming were A and B trains (which oddly reminded me of the NYC subway system) and I started to freak out because not only was I going to miss my bus heading to my housing but I was also stranded on this platform that was still shadily lit and vaguely looked like the setting in a horror film.

Alas, the anxiety dreams have begun.

So, that's how I ended up googling maps of Heathrow Airport at four in the morning.  I feel a lot more prepared, and honestly I probably wouldn't have either thought to look for maps of the airport if I didn't have that dream. 

Getting from Terminal 5 to Terminal 3 is probably going to be the hardest part next Monday

I've feeling only slightly overwhelmed about arriving at the airport in London, more specifically making my way from Terminal 5 to Terminal 3, getting through customs, hopefully not losing my luggage, and most importantly, trying to make my bus on time.  To keep myself organized, I've been making meticulous lists of every little thing I have to do, so hopefully I won't forget anything.

Before I leave, I'm going to update with my packing list and tentative agenda for my first week in London (!!!)

Until then,

Cecelia

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Greetings from Pre-Departure

This time next week I'll be just arriving in London, making my way through the maze which is Heathrow airport before I officially begin my study abroad program.  Just the thought of having less than a week at home is unsettling, seeing as I'm currently sitting at my dining room table with piles of paperwork I still have to fill out and a bedroom down the hall that is a disaster zone of unpacked belongings.

I made this blog as a way to record my semester!  However, I'm sure it'll end up as a multi-purpose tool as a way to keep in touch with people from home, hopefully hear from other people also studying abroad, and likely help me procrastinate everything important in life.

My goal is to post at least once a week, so if you haven't heard from me in a while, pester me until I post something.  I'm going to try to keep as up-to-date as possible, but hopefully I'll be too busy to spend loads of time on my laptop.

If you're studying abroad or have studied abroad already, I'd love to hear from you!  Even if you haven't studied abroad, I'd still love to hear from you.

Happy reading! (I promise I won't usually be this boring)

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