Back from London!

I'm back in Coventry now after a four-day weekend in London! It was my first trip to the city, marking my first full month abroad. It's hard to imagine that I've been here an entire month already. That means I'm 1/14 of the way to my masters degree. Wow. Make time go slower, please? So much to see, so little time to see it in!

On Friday I took the train from Coventry to London Euston, which takes just over an hour (and costs more than $40 US with my student discount- ouch!). There I was met by Sherrie, my godmother, who has lived in the London area for a few year now. She and Jim, my godfather, were my hosts for the weekend. Sherrie was my London tour guide, taking me on a sightseeing bus to get my bearings in the city. We saw most of the 'big' sights, from Westminster Abbey, to Parliament, to Buckingham Palace, The Tower of London, Big Ben... And we took a ride on the London Eye, which is, in my expert opinion, the best way to see the city. :-) It was amazing. It looks tall from the ground, but from the top- it's really, really, really tall!

Sherrie and I met up with Jim for dinner and then we went to see the Noel Coward play "Brief Encounters." It was wonderful. The actors were great- I really enjoyed their singing, and the way they combined video with the live acting was really interesting. And the story itself is a great one. For more: http://www.seebriefencounter.com/

On Saturday we took a scenic drive and ended up at Waddesdon Manor, a home built by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild in the late 1800s. It's now a part of the National Trust (think National Park-like organization). I'm now a National Trust member, so I can get into any of the more than 300 National Trust sites. Seen the movie "The Queen"? some of the interior was filmed here, and some garden shots. More: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-waddesdonmanor.htm

Saturday afternoon brought us to a small pub very near the windmill seen in the movie "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" as the workshop for Caractacus Potts. We sat in the very quiet country yard, sipping our drinks, and looking up the hill at the windmill. It was great!

That night I had my first fish and chips here in England. Mmmm! Yummy. And oh, the cider. Mmm, good. I love cider here. :-)

Sunday Sherrie and I went for another drive. This time, we saw William Penn's grave, a barn made out of wood from the Mayflower, The Burnham Beeches (amazingly beautiful woodlands), Cliveden (another National Trust property- the rich and famous used to frequent here, including the Astors)... and, here's the most exciting: Sainsburys! For those not familiar with all things England, Sainsburys is a grocery store. You don't know how excited I was to go in a "real" sized grocery store! The ones I can walk to in Coventry are small, and don't have a huge selection. And I needed two things: athletic tape (for blister prone toes), and color magnets (so I can wash white and black clothes together saving money doing laundry). Hooray, Sainsburys to the rescue. :-)

It was an amazing weekend, thanks in very large part to Sherrie and Jim!!! Three cheers for godparents who live in cool places. :-) I'll be heading back to their house for Thanksgiving in a few weeks, and Christmas, too!

I'll try to get some more photos up soon.