London Study Tour: Day One

Day One: Saturday, March 23

5:20am: Meet at Copenhagen Airport. 
We were all pretty exhausted given the hour, but I was probably the least tired of the bunch; all of my classmates had to get up at the crack of dawn and most of them had to leave their homes/kollegiums by about 3:30am since the buses and trains run very infrequently between 2 and 5am. However, Lars offered to drive me so we left my house at 5:00am (I decided not to tell my classmates)

7:20am: Depart on Norwegian flight to London Gatwick.

8:15am: Arrive at London Gatwick. 
When we landed in London and looked out the windows, we saw that we had brought the snow from Copenhagen with us. There were many audible groans and was immediate discussion about whether we really wanted to do a 2 hour walking tour later in the afternoon (though we didn't really have a choice).

8:45am: Take bus to hotel. 
While most of my classmates slept, I enjoyed looking out the window and watching the city go by. I loved the familiarity of the buildings and streets. 

11:15am: Arrive at hotel --> drop bags in LOCKED luggage room (this comes into play later) --> Take the Tube to High Street Kensington where we were free to wander for lunch. 
Helen and I broke off from the group and went in search of lunch (we were starving). We found a delicious little place where she had a burger and chips (fries) and I had my favorite sandwich: baguette with mozzarella, chicken, and pesto. Delicious! The two of us then wandered the streets a bit, but it was rather snowy and cold. Since we knew that we would soon be spending the afternoon outside, we popped into Waterstones, one of the major UK bookstores, and spent nearly an hour looking at books. I wrote down 11 titles of things that I want to read this summer. 

Helen enjoying our window seat at lunch

Browsing in the bookstore

1:30pm-3:30pm: Notting Hill Walking Tour. 
The tour was a hilarious experience. For starters, our guide was a Scottish man who had grown up in Ireland and now lives in England and had the strangest sense of humor. He had us in hysterics, and somehow, even though the weather was miserable, most of us had a really good time. We saw Notting Hill, which is one of the richest buroughs in the city, and wandered through several beautiful parks. The whole thing (the weather, his accent, his strange jokes, the funny stories) was pretty comical and luckily we were able to have a good laugh about it. 

The poor flowers were obviously very confused and wondered why it was snowing

Bizzarre London fashion 

Double Decker Bus in the snow

Hahaha. Look at our expressions

Julian braves the snow without an umbrella, hat, or hood

Okay, you have to admit that despite the grey sky, this is beautiful

Positive Psychology A faces the ultimate challenge of positive emotions and engagement

Even though we managed to last for a little more than half the tour, eventually Mads and our guide decided that we should change the plan a little, and we cut out the last part. With the extra time, we wandered around the science museum (after Helen and I took a break in the museum cafe for coffee and pound cake).

Helen sipping her coffee in the Museum cafe 

The sign here in the History of Medicine exhibit that was about "naval treatment," which was very confusing until Helen figured out that it did not in fact mean one's naval, but was referring to hospital care on board ships (clearly we were tired) 

3:45pm-5:00pm: Time on own at Portobello Road Market.
Next stop was Portobello Market, which unfortunately was just closing down when we arrived. We did get to walk down the street and enjoyed looking at funky road-side stands and costume jewelery. 

Helen in front of one of the many stands in the market 

5:00pm-7:30pm: Dinner at Goode and Wright. 
When we first looked at our schedule, none of us could believe that our dinner would take 2 and a half hours. But sure enough, it did (in a good way). Dinner was definitely one of the highlights of the day (perhaps even one of the highlights of the trip). Goode and Wright was a fantastic little place at the end of the market that DIS had literally rented out for us. The menu was set, and reminded me of my windmill feast with Evan and Helen in Amsterdam.
I should mention that over the course of the past few weeks I've developed a real love of wine (white wine), which was totally solidified over the course of this trip. I think I had more wine over the 6 days in London than I have in the entirety of my life (well, that was an exaggeration). At dinner this particular night I enjoyed 3 or 4 glasses (partly because it was delicious and partly because it was "on the house"). It certainly made me a little loopy, but I snapped right out of any "buzzed" state the moment that we got back to the hotel because...

Ilana, Jen, and me enjoying our first glass of wine during the first course

Very cute waiter taking drink orders and explaining some of the dishes

Yum

After a long day, we were all very eager to dive into our meals

8:00pm: return to hotel for "proper check-in." 
...When we returned to get our luggage from the LOCKED luggage room, we all opened our bags to make sure our valuables were still there. Though my passport had been with me, I (like almost all of my classmates) had left my laptop in my suitcase. All of my things were there, but my friend Becca's MacBook Pro was missing. Stolen. 

Obviously she was very, very upset, not just because she had just lost a $2100 computer, but also because all of her pictures, documents, music, etc. were instantly gone. The hotel was denying it was their fault because they said they had no way to prove she had even brought it into the building, which obviously didn't make her feel any better. She needed major comforting and support, which I was eager to offer so I accompanied her to the police station where she was sent to file a report. I felt absolutely terrible for her and figured that being there was the least I could do. It certainly put a damper on the evening, but I was glad to be able to offer some support. We went to bed after we returned from the station, trying to rest up for another busy day.