Travel Planning

Today was another very informative orientation day.  But right now my head is mainly reeling with travel options while I'm here, around the UK as well as Western Europe.

Some places I'm interested in checking out:

Ireland
Scotland
Dubrovnik, Croatia
Greece - I'd like to travel here for fall break which would be a total of ten days
Belgium
Barcelona, Spain
Switzerland

I have a much longer list than this, but I'm being realistic about time restrictions (as well as monetary ones).  I'm sure I will come to Europe again though, so no worries there!

But the reason I'm posting this is for any suggestions or recommendations you all might have about where I should travel, how I should travel, what I should do once I get there, what I should eat - ANYTHING!  Any help would be greatly appreciated because I don't know much about these places myself other than the fact that they are beautiful and totally worth exploring!

So just leave a comment on this post or get in contact with me another way if you prefer.

Thanks so much!  (or Cheers, as they say it in London)

Orientation Begins

My first full day in London.  My roommate's great and we get along very well.  NYU London (NYUL) puts on a whole slew of orientation events in these first few days to help get us acclimated into the new city as well as academically.

Today was great because we got a lot of information which makes me feel a bit more grounded.  Definitely more than I felt yesterday.  And it'll only get easier.

I got to see a bit more of the area surrounding my dorm today and was able to check out the other NYU buildings.  And I met some people in the process, which was great!  Future travel buddies!

Me and My Roomie Naveada

Oh, I was also able to finally pick up some towels.  Hallelujah!  Next I bought my UK phone - the cheapest one I could find.  It's a pay-as-you-go phone, yup pretty old school, so you just "top-up" when you need more minutes and/or texts.  Pretty convenient.

My totally hip new flip phone

Next, my new friend, Taylor (who is also a senior at NYU and previously studied abroad in Tel Aviv), and I went and got lunch at this place called Hummus Bros - which I had heard great things about.  It was delicious and cheap!  Always two great things.  We split a regular-size order of hummus and guacamole.  What could be better than those two things combined?  And the pita bread was extremely fresh, and yes, warm!

The server also gave us mint tea at the end on the house.  Now I don't know if that's because we were two American girls or because it was our first time there, but either way I'm not complaining!  That was also delicious. 

Last event of the day was the Pub Quiz.  NYUL rented out the basement room at this local pub for us.  There was food, drinks, and trivia game!  I suck at trivia and my team wasn't too skilled at it either.  But that's okay.  It was still a lot of fun and I met new people!

Our Pub Quiz Team - Team Tom Candome Daley

(I didn't come up with it, but still think it's hilarious)

My First Ever Legal Drink:

Aspall Cyder

Cheers to New Friends and New Experiences

(Naveada on the left, Taylor on the right)

Overall, I'd say it was a pretty successful day.  I'm very much looking forward to starting classes on Tuesday and getting into the swing of things with a new schedule.  But right now I'm enjoying this time of the unknown and of incredible uncertainty.  Right now I'm a tourist, pulling out my camera at every opportunity, and I love it.

This city is great, I can already tell.

Some observations:

-London doesn't have street signs.  It took me a while to figure out they were posted on the corner building of each intersection.  

-London drivers are a lot nicer and move a lot slower than NYC drivers.

-Everything sounds better with a British accent and I want one. 

-There are not trash cans on every corner and yet the city is still impeccably clean.

-They call the bathroom/restroom the "toilets".

-It is extremely necessary to look both ways when crossing the street because they drive on the opposite side.  It'll take me a while to get used to that one.

-Expect it to rain.  Everyday.  It can be sunny one minute and windy/cloudy the next.

Cheerio!

Landed in London

So the flights went well.  Pretty smooth and easy.  When I landed in Washington I had a very short window of time before I had to get to my connecting flight - on the other side of the airport.  Lots of power-walking occurred.  Once at the gate I immediately heard a whole slew of British accents.  It was thoroughly exciting to say the least! 

I was able to move to a window seat on my flight from DC to London that also ended up upgrading me to economy plus at no extra charge.  Fancy!  I think the seats are slightly bigger or something.  But yeah, the flight wasn't bad at all.  I just couldn't sleep that much.  I was very tired when I boarded, but didn't want to fall asleep right away in case they came around with dinner.  I've missed a meal before on an international flight because I was sleeping and it sucked, so I did not want that to happen again.  Even though I was exhausted, I was also starving.

Food was great.  Vegetarian option was an Indian dish with rice, beans, and curried vegetables.

The woman next to me was very nice.  Originally from Korea, but now lives in the US.  She was going to London for two weeks to visit a friend from college she hadn't seen in 25 years.  

By the way, these planes are so sick now.  Touch screens in front of you with a myriad of options for tv shows, sports games, movies, and even games.  And like I said, the food was surprisingly delicious.  Even the croissant we got in the morning. 

We landed in London at ten in the morning.  I had slept probably a total of two hours tops.  But honestly, I didn't care.  I was in London!  Met up with my minicab driver and we took the one hour trip to Guilford Street - where I'll be residing for the next three and a half months.  I was able to take pictures along the way and he was giving me a mini tour. 

Got to the dorm and unpacked.  At this point I felt dirty and exhausted and slightly confused because I had no idea where I was.  I really wanted to take a shower, but I didn't have towels because they would have taken up too much room in my suitcase (see previous post).  I tried finding this shopping plaza that's supposed to be nearby, but - you guessed it - got a bit lost.  No map.  No iPhone.  Did I mention it was raining?  Well it was!  But honestly I didn't mind at all because it's characteristic of London.  It just reminded me where I was.  So I just retraced my steps back to the dorm and figured out what went wrong then headed back out and found it.  

I checked multiple stores.  No towels.  I picked up a few other things I needed, but no towels. Those are kind of necessary.  So I did what any tired, dirty, groggy, desperate girl would do...I took a shower and may or may not have used paper towels.  Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Anyway, I continued to get situated, ate my first meal in the UK...

...exciting, I know.  But it was the cheapest thing I could find in the shortest amount of time.  I just needed to eat.

So yes the first day was a bit of a whirlwind of confusion, exhaustion, and slight frustration.  But what else can you expect?  It's a new city.  It's a new culture.  And I'm jet-lagged like crazy.  It'll certainly take me a few days to sync up.

After all of this and a long night of travel, all I wanted to do was sleep.  So that's what I did. 

My Bags Are Packed (Finally), I'm Ready to Go

I meant to post this entry yesterday at the beginning of my travels, but could not find a convenient time or place.  So here it is now.

Packing. Is. Stressful. 

Yes, that statement does deserve the extra punctuation.  I’ve never liked packing to begin with, but I always manage to get through it pretty painlessly (after a bit of procrastination).  Painless unless you count my freshman year of college where I over packed out the wazoo – but who doesn’t, right?  Actually though…I brought a U-Haul.  So yes I’ve packed up several months of my life before, but never for a plane and never for international travel. 

Three and a half months – that’s a long time.  Three and a half months of things I won’t be able to get in London, like contacts and prescriptions, but also three and a half months of changing weather climates.  It’s supposed to be 72*F on Saturday and reach about 40*F by December.  So that means sweaters, coats, appropriate shoes, scarves, not to mention rain gear, and...shorts.

I was trying my darndest to pack it all into one large checked bag, one small roller carry on and a backpack (stuffed to the brim) as to avoid extra baggage fees.  International flights will charge you like crazy.  The only problem was that 50lb. limit on the checked bag.  It’s actually impossible. Monday night was full of slight headaches, rocking back and forth on my bed, and repetition of the phrase “this is so stressful, this is so stressful.”  We were weighing and measuring and transferring and eventually eliminating things until I got to a point where I literally could not eliminate any more.  I swear.  Even my mom said she was proud of me for limiting myself to a few pairs of shoes and few pairs of jeans.  Like I said before, I’m a notorious over-packer.  My goal for London – pack light.  But man is that HARD! 

Tuesday morning decided it would be much smarter in the end and much less hassle (not to mention stress) to check another bag.  Hallelujah!  Because of this, I was able to upgrade from my small carry-on suitcase to my medium sized one, which equals more room.

Anywho, after squeezing and switching and weighing, our mission was accomplished – finally!  And only a few compromises had to be made.  Now I can breathe. 

After all this I have time to just chill with my family going over some last minute details and have one final American meal.  I choose Bluewater Grill.  Love that place.  I am also able to see my (9 months pregnant!) best friend one last time.  Her presence always calms me.  So I was grateful for that.

We drive to the airport.  It is at this point I start to get butterflies.  The good kind.  This is really happening!  The trip I’ve been figuring out for a few months and been dreaming about for a few years.  I knew I had to visit London someday.  I just had this feeling we would mesh.  And now the time is here to test out that theory.  It could not be at a better point in my life.

At the airport my bags are weighed.  One is over by a pound.  I transfer two pairs of pants to the smaller suitcase.  Voila.  50 pounds.  Other suitcase – 50 pounds. WOW!  On the dot – look at that.  Now, how I’m going to bring stuff back is another question, but…we shall cross that bridge when we come to it.  I still need to revel in this victory.  Two bags, perfectly full, for three and a half months?  I’d say that’s packing pretty light…for me at least ;)

So here I go.  Off to London.  Off to explore.  Off to learn.  And off to grow.  I cannot wait for the journey.

Now to get there…

Photos courtesy of the fabulously talented Tanner Scarr

London is Calling

A door opens
across the sea
It has me wondering
who I could be

I take the leap
and step inside
And there's no room 
to try and hide

A whole new journey
I'm about to start
It tosses my stomach
and flutters my heart

The great unknown
is what awaits
As time counts down
to my departure date

I feel as prepared
as I can be
But there's no preparing
to meet the new me

My body's excited
for this new change of scene
My heart can't wait
to see what "life-changing" can mean

My mind is anxious
to be tested and tried
While my soul is yearning
to travel far and wide

Life has prepared me
for this overwhelming trip
Independence and curiosity
have me well-equipped

I say my goodbyes
to the comforts of home
Throwing caution to the wind
because I'm ready to roam

I look forward to the future
and eagerly say hello
Knowing these next few months
provide an opportune time to grow

I shut the door behind me
to what I currently know
For London is calling me
and there I must go.