Let’s start things off with the biggest snowfall in London in almost 20 years. I experienced it. And to tell you the truth, it wasn’t THAT much! But it was enough to shut the entire city down for the day. The tube was suspended, as were the buses and practically every school in England was off and something like every 3 out of 5 Londoners didn’t go to work. I tell ya, these Londoners need to learn a thing or two about snow and take some advice from us mid-Missourians about snow! 

Anyway, got to work at about 9:00 and NO ONE was there except 5 out of the 6 interns and about 5 other people! Needless to say that we all went home by 11! When I got home almost all of my roommates (except poor Jen) had also gotten off of work and so Rae, Shelby and I decided to go for a little stroll to High Street Kensington to window shop, but unfortunately all of the stores were closed! So while we were heading back to our flat we passed Kensington Gardens and saw everyone playing in the snow… perfect opportunity to take a leisurely stroll! But that stroll turned into a snowball fight when some people asked us if we wanted to join… and it was BY FAR the biggest snowball fight I have ever participated in!!!! And can I mention SO MUCH FUN! I felt like a kid again….. and it felt damn good! Now I am secretly wishing that it will snow again and we can repeat the fabulous day that was February 2!

Wednesday was our BLC trip to…. drumroll…. OXFORD! The university was gorgeous, much like every other building in freaking England. The best part of the day was our tour guide, Trudy. She was HILARIOUS and called us her “little sausages”and asked to be excused every time she needed to ask someone from Oxford a question. Now, I have no idea what the connotation little sausages means, but when a little skinny British lady calls you a little sausage you just have to wonder where in the world she got it from! We saw the pub where C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkein met up and ate at together regularly called the Little Eagle and Child. Then we went and saw Christ Church where they filmed the dining hall scenes in Harry Potter! Too cool. Didn’t go in though because I am cheap and you had to pay 4 pounds! But we all walked around the place and just admired Oxford’s beauty. It is more than just a university town that is for sure. Oh and I also got an Oxford sweatshirt…. I feel so legit now!

Now on to WALES!! Possibly the coolest weekend of my life. I feel so much more adventurous now! We took the train Friday to Wales (I am skipping the whole part about our bus being cancelled and having to rush to Paddington to book a train ride because the bus people were being super sketch). We had to stop in SWANSEA Wales, the sister city to Swansea, IL! I felt right at home.

We got to our destination around 7ish. Pembrokeshire Wales. Probably the most beautiful countryside I have ever seen. We settled into our lodge (the whole weekend was reserved for us IE kids… ) and they provided us with dinner. Now, since we were pretty much in the middle of the land of sheeps and cows, there wasnt really any place that we could go at night. Thankfully, the lodge had its own bar with a bartender so we were able to drink there (really cheap, might I add).

Saturday was when the fun started. My first event was sea kayaking. Now it was too windy for us to go into the ocean (soo mad about that too!) so they took us to a rock quarry that had a lake that was partially blocked by hills so it was less windy there, and hence perfect to kayak in! First we had to put on our wetsuits. Keep in mind that they were soaking wet, and it was FREEZING outside (around 45 degrees I’d say) so it was very difficult to pull them over your body! We had to wear so much gear, too: wetsuit, helmet, waterproof jacket, lifevest, wet socks, booties, gloves, etc etc etc. I have kayaked before long ago (at the lovely Camp Ondessonk in souther IL) so I kinda knew what I was doing. But the 10 of us in my group and our two instructors raced and played kayak water polo and all of that good stuff. Two people capsized (and no, contrary to popular belief I was not one of them!) The worst part though was the end, because you had to take off the wetsuit before we got into the car. So you are basically stripping down in your swimsuit, nothing else on, in 45 degree windy weather. Not exactly my cup of tea!

After sea kayaking was our HIKE. We walked 4 miles along the southwestern Welsh coastline and marvel at the OCEAN and cliffs and nature!! Absolutely gorgeous! It was SOOO windy though, and we almost practically blew away!!! But we did get up close and personal with some sheep that wandered off their path! But looking out into the ocean made me realize that I am pretty much a tiny speck in this picture of the world. For sure the best hike that I have EVER been on!!!!!!! Wouldn’t change it for the world…

Saturday night = tons of fun at the lodge’s bar!!!

Sunday. They saved the best for last for our group…. COASTEERING!!! Which basically means climbing rocks and jumping off cliffs into the ocean!!!! First we had to get into our trusty wet suits again… then we drove the 20 minutes to the ocean! It was just breathtaking to be able to climb the cliffs and free fall into the ocean! But let me tell you, that water was FREEZING! Literally! I think that our instructors said that the water temp was about upper 30s-low 40s. AKA COLD!!!!! We started out jumping from the small cliffs first and made our way up to the HUGE drops! The first jump was the hardest because you knew what you were getting yourself into. I tell ya, it was just like what Leo Dicaprio said in Titanic “It’s like a thousand knives stabbing you all over your body….” once I jumped in and got back up to surface I gasped for air because the coldness literally took your breath away! But I am so glad that I did it when it was that cold… when else can you say that you went cliff jumping into the ocean in Wales in 40 degree weather?! Exactly.

What was cool about jumping off the cliffs was we got to swim a little. The wind was blowing very hard so the current was blowing us whatever which way! My second favorite part of coasteering was when we went into this cave/crevice part between cliffs and it was like a “toilet”… you treaded water (or at least tried to) and as the tide came in, the water filled the space and so everyone in the water raised up…..if that makes any sense. and then, when the tide flushed out, all of the water went with it so then we all went down down down!!! Just think of floating at the top of a tide pool and then the water drops 10 feet suddenly and you drop down with it… so exhilarating! We were all laughing like giddy little kids in a candy store. It was a cool moment.

We jumped off a series of cliffs at different heights. Just standing on top of the rocks and looking out into the ocean was just unbelieveable! I still can’t get over the fact that I did all of this…. next on my list of crazy things to do: SKYDIVING!!!!!!!

Monday: work was really fun. All of the interns got to go out on the streets and do what MSN calls “Vox Pop” which is basically like a Jaywalking piece off of Jay Leno… asking people on the street random questions. Well our topic was Valentines Day and we had to find and ask people what was their best V-day, worst, money saving tips, etc. It turned out to be really fun as everyone we interviewed had a funny story to tell. Go here to watch it!: http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-GB&vid=7288ac8f-5894-4c62-a31a-e5869b855d98&from=homepage_picks

The headline is what I hear every morning taking the tube to work. It is engrained in my brain already…. the loudspeaker woman’s English accent sure is freaking catchy, that’s all I gotta say!

What I’ve been up to…. what I’ve been up to…. 

Oh yeah, work! This was my first full week at MSN. And can I say that I freaking LOVE it?! So far I have been just doing small stuff like making photo galleries and building webpages. But on Friday I got to write a short piece! YAY! It will be on the site Monday. And my department keeps telling me that whenever a new car comes they will take me out and I will get a chance to test drive it. Dunno how I feel about that, since in Britain they drive on the opposite side of the road and practically every car is a stick shift! I told them I was scared out of my mind and they said that of course they would help me… AH!!! We’ll see!

Wednesday we had our BLC field trip to Tate Britain. It was cool, lots of paintings and modern art. There this one piece that was bamboo hanging from the ceiling and you had to walk through it. Cool! But a little loud lol. I felt like a kid again!

Friday night, we went out! And was it eventful…..met some shady Australians, went to a few places in Leicester Square/Covent Garden/Picadilly, had to take the double decker bus back to the flat because the tube closes at midnight (which I don’t understand why!), and I was in heels all night… walking everywhere…. blister-mania! Eck!

Today everyone kinda did their own separate things… so I decided to go to HARROD’S!!!! 7 stories of nothing but designer clothes, furniture, appliances, purses, jewellery, food, toys, electronics, shoes, perfume, and even dog leashes!!! It was SO COOL, and really made me want to make bank whenever I graduate that’s for sure. They had all kinds of exotic foods… even pigs legs (hoofs and all…. weird). I got GELATO… which was EXCELLENT!!!! My favorite part of the day was heading to the toy area (haha) and looking at these extravagant dollhouses.. OMG. It reminded me so much whenever I was little and went to Jackie Ackermann’s house and I would play with her dollhouse set 24/7. This one dollhouse there was 750 pounds.. and every piece of little furniture in it was at least 20 pounds apiece. But it was soo cool though. It really made me take a walk down memory lane….

Our internet went kaput in our flat yesterday… makes you realize how much you use the internet in a given day! Aaand we have a 5 page paper due Monday for our journalism class… things can’t get any better than this!

Happy Chinese New Year! Chinatown is all decked out and sooo cool! We are heading there tomorrow to celebrate.

Starting to plan spring break in Italy to visit Erin, Kelsey and Alanna!!! AH! Can’t wait to see them!

This week: Oxford on Wednesday, Friday-Sunday in Wales for the adventure trip, Monday is Rae’s 21st! YAY!

Friday: 2nd day of work! After work our fellow employees took all of us interns out to a nearby pub, as it is tradition with all new interns! We are all very anxious and excited about the next three months ahead of us! But, I am quite jealous as my fellow intern Laura (who works in the Video Dept.) will be shooting an interview with Paris Hilton on Tuesday. No fair! I informed her that I will be stowing-away (is that even a word?) in her camera bag, although it probably won’t be that comfy. Hey, a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do, right?

Friday night after drinks with MSN people a few of us from my program went out to this AWESOME bar called Elk sort of south of Earl’s Court. Um, the music there was absolutely PERFECT! Right when we walked in the DJ was playing The Beatles “Day Tripper,” and I knew I was right at home! It was more-so music from the 70s and 80s (right up my alley) mixed in with some modern day hits like Pink and Kings of Leon. Very fun though to dance to as its not the wall thumping rap and R and B stuff that is constantly being played at clubs back home. A nice change of scenery it was!

Yesterday Danielle and I went on a group tour of St. Paul’s Cathedral. The tour was OK, I mean it’s the church that Charles and Diana were married at, and the walls and ceilings were decorated with mosiacs, so it was gorg obviously. But the best part of the tour came at the end when we climbed almost a whopping 400 stairs (and keep in mind, these stairs were very steep and NARROW as hell) to get to the (almost) top of the cathedral to have a look out at all of London! An ideal panoramic view of the entire city……….. 

After St. Paul’s, Danielle and I met up with Jen and Rae and we headed to PORTOBELLO ROAD!!!! Just a HUGE market with clothes, produce, jewellery, furniture, paintings, purses, carpets, basically just about EVERYTHING you can imagine crammed into one long and narrow street. We went in the afternoon and it was packed but we still had fun browsing. I got some cherries and bananas super cheap. And Rae and I had our first London CREPE! My mouth is still watering…..

Until next time!

Where do I begin?

Saturday night: It is great how so many friends this semester are abroad. It makes for a great time when you meet up! Case in point: my good friend Annie from Flat Branch is in London studying abroad too! So we met up and had dinner at Las Iguanas in SoHo. Yum! And half priced drinks/buy one get one free….. even better! However, when we met up with some of her school friends at a pub, a bar fight broke out. Now, I am not talking about a typical fratty bar fight with stupid guys shouting and being obnoxious drunks and throwing a few punches. No, I am talking thrown barstools and guys smashing fifths of alcohol over other guys’ heads. NOT KIDDING! OMG. That was some scary shit and all I could do was just watch in amazement and remind myself that this wasn’t a movie. The poor guy that got the crap kicked out of him (even more possibly) came out of it with the bloodiest headwound I have ever seen. The poor bartenders looked like they got hit by a bus. Wow.

Tuesday: what a great day overall. Because it was Inauguration Day in the states, Madame Tussaud’s wax museum was offering free admission for all American citizens with a passport. Considering that normally an adult ticket sells for 25 pounds, this was definitely an offer that I could not refuse! The wax figures were so cool.. and too many to name. Let’s just say that Zac Efron from HS Musical had his own room, complete with a basketball court and cheerleaders. Not kidding. Among the other celebrities I got to “hang out with” for the day: Brad and Angelina, Keira Knightley, Prince Harry (ahh yessss.), Tom Cruise (although he didn’t jump on any couches when he saw me ) The Hulk, Queen Elizabeth, Diana, a pole dancing Britney Spears, Beyonce, JT, Harry Potter, Jennifer Aniston (though she looked NOTHING like the real Jen), Bob Marley, Barack Obama, Albert Einstein, and my personal favorite… DANIEL CRAIG! 

After the wax museum we headed to Imperial go gather with the IE gang to watch the Inauguration (and to also have an afternoon drink of course). It was crazy how many Londoners came out to watch Obama being sworn in. I am pretty sure UK-ers are more interested and care more about American government than their very own! The UK is seriously Obama Nation, no lie.

Wednesday was amazing. We headed to Stonehenge and Bath for our BLC field trip. Stonehenge was Stonehenge, I mean you drive 2 hours out of London to see some stones. And it just what all of the pictures depict. It was too bad that you weren’t allowed to actually touch the stones, cuz that would have made the trip. Unfortunately the area around the stones was roped off so you couldn’t get too close. But I got loads of pretty pictures!

After our stop at Stonehenge we proceeded to head to the beautiful town of Bath! OMG. This place was just magical. Words cannot describe the beauty of the mixture of hills and buildings and the English countryside. We got to Bath around noon and had a few hours to wander and see the city before we headed into the Roman Baths. Shelby, Danielle and I got a bite at this really cute sandwich shop and ate it on the benches looking out at the city. All the while having this random dog creep on us while its owners were having some sort of lover’s quarrel (which we later witnessed as we passed their apartment [I'm guessing] and the guy was screaming at the chick inside…. I tell ya!). 

The Roman Baths were so cool. I never really understood the history behind it all but the tour definitely solved all of that. It was neat because the springs were still working, so there was steam coming out of the baths still! And we got to see the original foundations, tubs, wishing coins etc. All of it was still intact! It was insane how smart these people were so long ago! We were heavily advised not to touch the water, though, as one person a few years ago touched it and suffered from an amoeba-something or other and died as a result. Thank God I knew that in advance.

Today (Thursday) was my first day at MSN! I am working in the Cars and Travel departments and couldn’t be more thrilled about it. I will actually get to be writing stories and editing, not getting coffee and running errands like a normal intern would do. And the MSN building is freaking TIGHT! 

Well, that is all for now. Night.

Thursday Danielle, Rae, Linda and I hit up the Museum of Natural History. SO COOL (and SO much better than the Science Museum!). The architecture both inside and outside was thrilling and beautiful (P.S. why don’t they have more buildings like London’s back in the states?! Oh I forgot, the US is only a little over 200 years old. This place is freaking ancient! ) They had this neat dinosaur exhibit and also exhibits on the history of mammals and human biology (along with an entire diagram on sexual intercourse… Brits sure are promiscuous..ha!) We only got to walk around for an hour or so as it closed at 5:50 (weird time). We are going to go back soon and finish the other side of the museum that had exhibits on the history of planet Earth.

Thursday night Jake, Jen, Shelby and I headed to a Lebanese restaurant a block over from the flat. We got there, and of course, once we open our mouths they know that we are American. Well, I think our server/part owner lady thought that we were the typical ‘stupid Americans’ and could make a few extra bucks off of us. We were all going to order an entree, but she informs us that we must order from the “Set Menu” which is 4 starter plates and 3 entrees to split between the four of us… for 21 POUNDS EACH! Figure that in with the current exchange rate, and that is almost $31 apiece! WTF lady?! We didn’t fall for it, especially since NO WHERE on the menu did it say that you had to order from that part of the menu as everything they served was listed along with the prices of each individual thing. Also, absolutely no one in the restaurant was doing this! So after going back and forth with her she leaves us to figure out what we want to do. We debated on leaving since this place seemed a little sketch, but we wanted to stay to experience a different fare. And then, lo and behold another server comes over (and much more politely) and asks us what we want to do. We explain to him that we just want to order six starters to share between us. He takes our order (wahoo!) of hummus, hummus schwarma, falafel, tabouli, lebanese pizza with lamb and some sort of cheese crescent thing. I have never had anything of this sort in my entire like (besides hummus) and I was pleasantly surprised at how tasty everything was! It is definitely a different taste, but it is so worth the try! And, coming from a picky eater myself, that is saying a lot! So, go out tonight and try some Lebanese (but go somewhere without a bitchy Lebanese old broad with nothing better on her mind than to make American’s lives miserable! )

Friday we decided to hit up ABBEY ROAD. Yes, as in THE BEATLES! The hard part was finding this place, but once you see iton the street then you know its Abbey Road! It is so cool because you imagine this place being SO BIG, but once you get there you see just how small it is (like everything else in life, right?). But Abbey Road Studios is a little house on a quiet residential road. Actually, the entire residential area is just picturesque with the little white houses with black wrought iron gates in the front with a Maserati parked in the driveway (NOT KIDDING!!! Since I have been here I can honestly say that I have seen more Ferarris/Maseratis/Porsches/BMWs/Mercedes/Audis than the combination of cars made in all of freaking Detroit. I am serious, South Kensington is especially infected with them since it is such a wealthy area to live). Anyway, back to Abbey Road. There is a huge wall in front of the studio that is white painted and you are allowed to sign your name. I wrote “All you need is <3. <3 is all you need. Jenna, Belleville, IL 1/16/09″ (I will get a picture up here with it when I load it). SO COOL! There were many funny and serious messages on the wall, the graffiti was everywhere! My roommates and I also decided to be typical tourists and replicated the Abbey Road album cover with John, Paul, George and Ringo crossing the Zebra (pronouned with a short “e,” not like the animal) Crossing! We did it and successfully pissed off a ton of British motorists, since when pedestrians go across Zebra Crossings they HAVE to stop! (I’ll get a pic of that too whenever the time comes…) All in all a fun sightseeing day.

Today I went on a tour of Westminster Abbey. OH MY GOD. This place is IMMACULATE. Seriously, if you ever come to London YOU MUST STOP HERE! No matter how touristy/crowded it gets, it seriously tops the most interesting places to see in London. It was so exciting to see so much history in one building. The inside of the church was just BEAUTIFUL Gothic architecture. Too bad cameras aren’t allowed inside the actual church or else my whole memory card would be full. 

Front of Westminster Abbey

Besides being a church, Westminster Abbey is the site of the coronation of (almost) every king and queen in the history of the British monarchy, since in essence the ruling king/queen is the head of the Church of England. The last coronation in the church was Elizabeth II’s in 1953 (much thanks to our awesome tour guide for many cool facts). Also, it is a burial ground of kings, queens, scientists, poets, musicians, architects, etc who all have had an impact on Britain’s history. Just to name a few, Elizabeth I, St. Edward the Confessor, Issac Newton, Charles Darwin, Charles Dickens, King Henry VII, Henry V, Mary Queen of Scots, Mary I and Rudyard Kipling, among others. Just being in this place with these (albeit dead) people who have impacted the world forever was just truly breathtaking. Some of the graves were in the floor and you walked over them (creepy, huh?) and  others had their own specific tombs in the walls and out in the open. And to see the queen’s seat she sits in while attending mass? Unbelieveable! Also in the Abbey was the Coronation chair, the chair that every reigning monarch has sat in when they were coronated since the 1300s. Overall today was just a huge enjoyable history lesson… it was just perfect.

After Westminster we wandered around a bit in Central London. Got an awkward pic with a guard on a horse! Yes!

Annnddd we also booked our trip to Wales. Us and a bunch of people from our program are going to the Welsh coast and going coasteering and sea kayaking and jumping off huge cliffs into the ocean! I can’t wait!

What a great end to an incredible week. I hope the rest of the semester is just like this.

There has been so much that has happened since I have last updated! Monday was yet another orientation day at Imperial. We took a tour of the college and I got to see how many cool places are near to the campus! During one of our breaks Rae, Jenn, Danielle and I headed to the Science Museum, which is a block away from Imperial. It was a bit of a disappointment, but I guess that is what you get for a free museum? Unless one is interested in the history of plastics, how the steam engine was invented or how television sitcoms have shaped the way technology has evolved. You can’t say that I didn’t try out a new thing! But also close to college is the Natural History Museum (which interests me A LOT more than any science…) and the Victoria and Albert museum, which we are visiting in our British Life and Culture class. 

Monday night a bunch of us from the program headed to the Imperial student union pub, DaVinci’s, after class got out. I had another Snakebite… yum. We are told that the Union’s drinks are the cheapest in London, and I have to agree! Thank God!

After the Union we headed to The King’s Head, which is a pub right across the street from the flats. I had Fruilli, which is strawberry beer and it’s mmmm mmmm goooooood! Monday night is Trivia Night there, and I made friends with a group of four locals who were awesome! They even invited me to be in their group for next week, ha! They are probably the first genuinely nice locals that I have met so far, even though I am sure there are tons here. Unfortunately, when you walk down the street you usually don’t get the sense that people are nice. Usually the people act just like the people in NYC, who want you to get your tourist ass out of their way! It is hard though because everything here is backwards- people drive on the left side, walk on the left side, and you have to look on the opposite side to cross the street. And I’ll admit it, I have already run into a few people while walking. Go figure, right?!

Tuesday was the most adventurous day here yet. Danielle, Rae, Jenn and I headed to Kensington Gardens and walked around the whole entire park! It took us a while, but it was so calm and relaxing. There were so many people running and families spending time together and couples walking their dogs. It truly felt that I was in London and not some tourist trying to find her way to her next destination. And I got to see the Number One thing on my list to see in London. Drumroll please……… the PETER PAN STATUE! Not that I am obsessed with Peter Pan or anything (I am… I have the cartoon, the remake, Hook, and have seen the play that was made into a movie a ton!) And, of course, he didn’t want to grow up. Story of my life!

I bought a cell phone after our excursion through Kensington. My new mobile is a Sony Ericsson, a cheap one nonetheless (only about 5 pounds.. WTF? I didn’t even know that they made phones that cheap!) If you want to hear my beautiful voice, I can call you for 2 pence a minute internationally. Crazy huh?!

Today our BLC class had our first field trip to the Museum of London. It was not bad, definitely alot better than the Science Museum, that’s for sure. Alot of info on the Great Fire of 1666 and how the Romans lived when they resided here. Cool artifacts, too. After the field trip, Shelby and I went and tried to find some good deals for West End shows. Then we headed to Primark, which is like a Wal Mart, to get some towels and I got myself a pair of slippers for around the flat, since the floors are somewhat on the nasty side! Then we found Poundland- an English DOLLAR GENERAL! How about that?! Everything a pound? Sounds good to me!!

Tonight we are heading back to the Union (I swear, that place is going to become the Harpo’s/Big 12 of London) for a special Back-t0-School party. Tootles! (okay, felt really English saying that )

Well, in order to keep everyone up-to-date with my daily festivities in London, I’ve begun my first blog. Have fun.

As of right now, I am sitting in my flat in South Kensington listening to the tube run in our so-called “backyard.” What a change of scenery from two days ago! So far the weather has been great and cooperative, about 40 degrees and partly cloudy. No rain as of yet (cross your fingers, knock on wood)!

We left for London on Friday night at 9:00PM from Chicago, and arrived about 11:30AM London time (5:30 AM St. Louis time, 6 hours time difference). I was a bit jet-lagged as I didn’t really sleep much on the plane. But our program wanted to keep us up til night since chances are if you take a nap when you arrive you will suffer jet-lag longer than if you just stay up. So, despite my body’s longing for sleep, we dropped off our bags at the flat and began right away with a trip to Imperial College, the college that we are studying at. Actually, I am only taking one class at Imperial, International Issues in Reporting or something like that. The other course I am taking, British Life and Culture, is going to be pretty awesome because we take field trips every Wednesday to places in London and the surrounding areas. The other 6 credit hours are part of an internship that we have four days a week. So it looks like this semester is going to be a busy one!

After our orientation at Imperial, our program decided to throw us a pub crawl to a few places around our neighborhood. We got started at 6 PM and headed to our first place. My first beer in London was a London’s Pride. They warned us that the beer here has more alcohol than American beer (and even a “Bobby” aka a policeman told us that people call Budweiser Budwater here, haha). It is sort of a good thing since we wont have to spend loads of money on a lot of alcohol since we get intoxicated faster

After stopping at a second pub, we headed to the Imperial College Student Union which is a bar a night. How crazy is that huh?! Must be nice to just head downstairs from your dorm room and grab a beer and go! I wish Mizzou was like that! There we had a drink called a Snakebite, which is beer and cider mixed together, and was it good! And cheap- only 2 pounds! We mingled and got to meet some locals and other foreigners. However, the only bad thing about London pubs is that most close at 11PM. Coming from a place where you normally go out at 10PM, this is definitely a change. So, unfortunately for us, we are forced to go out earlier and come home “early”.

Today we had a mini sightseeing tour of London. We headed out on a tour bus and saw Buckingham Palace, Tower of London, Big Ben and Parliament, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, among other places. Alot of buildings here are old and intricate. In central London the older buildings are mixed together with new ones, and because of that you know that this place is rapidly changing everyday. It is also HUGE, which means that we have a lot of ground to cover over these next few months. I can’t wait to see what lies ahead!