Hello London Town

My first blog post from London! I have officially been on my study abroad trip for a week now. It began with a couple of bumps in the road..our flight was rerouted to Chicago 3 hours into the plane ride and then cancelled due to mechanical problems. So we arrived a day later than planned, but still just as excited for our trip.

We are living in South Bank about 1 block from the London Eye. Our walk to class entails a picturesque view of Big Ben, Westmister Abbey, the Houses of Parliament and St. Paul's Cathedral on the other side of the skyline. The class building is in a prime location- right off of Trafalgar Square and a 5 minute walk from downtown Picadilly Circus. 

So far, we've done a ton of walking and visiting both tourist spots and local haunts. A few of my favorite things were climbing 528 steps to the top of St. Paul's Cathedral to look out over the city, visiting the Chelsea Flower Show (and failing to understand the British obsession with gardening), walking through Hyde Park and looking out for Princess Kate at Kensington Palace, and, of course, finding classic British pubs throughout the city. I was able to find some good, cheap restaurants in the Soho area. There were also a lot of interesting boutique stores as well as a couple of awesome record stores. Covent Garden is another fun spot to walk through, although many of the stores there can be found in America as well.

This weekend, I am traveling to Scotland to visit Edinburgh and St. Andrews. Look out for more pictures from that trip coming soon! :)