I'm in London!

I'm finally in London and have a moment to update!

I arrived on Sunday morning and reached my flat by noon without a hitch.  Monday and Tuesday were holidays here and everyone was off because of Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee.  The central part of London, by Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey, was completely packed from the time I arrived until Tuesday evening.  So I still haven't seen any of those tourist hotspots-- I think that's the plan for tomorrow and Saturday.

The first few days it really felt like being in a foreign country-- trying to figure out the tube system and buses, learning the dining-out protocol, and figuring out the money.  Fortunately my friend from home, Shane, whose family is from London, has been here since Friday, so he helped me around a bit for the first couple of days.  Today we went on a number of adventures, so I'm starting to get my bearings.

This morning we got to sleep in until 10 am, so I really caught up on sleep.  I went out with my two roommates and one flatmate to Hyde Park.  We took the tube there, and explored the area.  That's where it really felt like London.  Buckingham Palace was closed off for the day, so we couldn't get near enough to see it.  The park was beautiful though, in spite of the pouring rain.  We got back on the tube from there to go to Harrod's department store, and admired the beautiful things, trying our best not to look at price tags.

We then had a mandatory meeting for the group at the Study Centre near Queensway, where we met up with some other girls from our flat.  Several of us then went to H&M near Harrod's, where we got some boots and tights (it's been COLD here-- mid-50s to low 60s farenheit-- plus quite rainy, naturally), and then took a trip to Whole Foods.

I've been very eager to see Whole Foods, since I work there back at home.  The one in Kensington, nearest to my flat, was huge.  It was two floors and very difficult to get my bearings.  It did not feel the same to me as my Whole Foods at home, but I found everything I needed, and the cashiers were very friendly.  I had my discount card, but it wouldn't scan here, so the lady scanned another team member's card and I got 25% off!  I got a Whole Foods London bag as a little keepsake.

So, it's starting to sink in that I'm in London, and I'm starting to have a great time.  I'm eager to see more of the sites, travel around Europe, and start my internship.  One step at a time though!