On the South Side of the Thames

Today classes started for the London Program. Luckily for me, I don't have class on Monday. So today a friend and I took our first unplanned exploration of London! First we ate a breakfast of eggs and croissants. I swear the eggs here are just a bit thicker than the eggs in America, and they taste so much better. I don't know if I'm hallucinating, but I swear they do. Then we caught the Circle Line out to Westminster to begin our journey.

We got off the Tube, and what were we so lucky to see as soon as we arose from the Tube station, Parliament and Big Ben. I love this city. It was spectacular. So we decided to play tourist for a bit and take pictures with Big Ben and the London Eye (right across the Thames). We then began our journey along the south bank of the Thames. For the most part the day was just filled with exploring markets off the Thames, looking at the amazing architecture of the buildings, and just taking in our new home.

We went to the Tate Modern museum. I'm not going to lie, I don't know how much of a fan I am of modern art. Some of it was a bit out there. But the museum itself was incredible. They literally took an old factory on the Thames, gutted the inside, and built a museum. It was incredible. The highlight of the museum was definitely seeing two Picasso and a Monet painting.

We then traveled and saw Millennium bridge and the Globe theatre. I honestly never knew that the Globe was right on the Thames. Such a huge piece of history. It amazes me, that as we walk around, we are seeing buildings that are a few centuries old. We went into a Scottish Cathedral, which was probably built in the 1200s. The seating of the church was literally on top of graves of people. The architecture was spectacular, and this building had so much history.

From there on we walked through the Bourough market. Most of the shops were closed, but I am definitely going to be going there once the entire place is open. There was so much fresh fruit and vegetables, bakeries, and cafes all around. I know I'm definitely going to go back once the entire market is open. From there we went and had lunch in a small cafe and had some paninis. They were spectacular and huge, we only ate a third of it and took the rest back to our flats. Luckily the only rain for the day fell during our lunch, so we missed it entirely.

After lunch we continued our Journey down the Thames. We ended up at the Tower bridge and the Tower of London. I felt as if I saw so many London landmarks that everyone should see on their visit. I definitely took my fare share of touristy pictures today in front of every major landmark we passed. So much was accomplished today and we honestly didn't plan any of it. We just took a walk down the river and found so much history and beauty.

After that we returned to the flats, did a bit of work. Sainsbury's a local supermarket finally opened up. They were closed for renovation and happen to be the largest supermarket in the area. Our flat is finally stocked with some staples every household needs, such as salt and pepper. After the shopping we cooked a large dinner then went out for a pint. Life is just wonderful here. Now I'm off to do a bit of homework before my first class starts tomorrow at 10:45.