Noelle Across The Pond

Travel was the theme of this past week. After returning back to London from visiting home on Wednesday, I worked Thursday and Friday and was on the road again for the weekend.

On Thursday my friend Miriam and I got drinks at a restaurant called Duck and Waffle. It’s a fairly well known restaurant in London, and is on the 39th floor of a building near Liverpool Street. It looks out above the Gherkin, which is one of my favorite modern buildings in London. I took the picture below of the view – I think this is probably one of the best (scenery) pictures I’ve ever taken.

This weekend was Mark’s birthday – and also what I joking referred to as my ‘Tour de England’ – as we visited a total of three cities in one weekend (four if you count London). Friday after work I took the bus to Cheltenham where he lives, where we went out to a pub to celebrate his birthday with his friends. Then, Saturday we hit the road around lunch time and drove to the outskirts of Manchester, where we partook in another birthday party for his friend John. After spending the night in Manchester, his friend drove us to Birmingham so we could both catch our respective trains back home. I would have liked to spend a little time actually exploring each city, but we just didn’t have enough hours in a day to do it all. I thought it was a rather successful weekend though!

I got back home Sunday evening and decided to make the most of the rest of the daylight. I went for a walk to Clissold Park near my house, relaxed reading a book (Protect and Defend by Richard North Patterson – so good) in another green space near my house, and treated myself to kabob dinner at a restaurant on my street. It was nice to just unwind and relax before my work week began. Below are some pictures from my walk in Clissold Park – the tombstones are from the early 1800s!

Canal in the park

Cementery in the park

Clissold Park bench

My neighborhood park

I really love learning about history, so Monday evening I did a Jack the Ripper walking tour through London Walks. It was a two hour walking tour that went through the City of London and briefly into the East End of London where I learned about the victims of Jack the Ripper, what Victorian period London was like, and who some potential suspects were. What I really liked about London Walks (http://londonwalks.com/) is that they are a bit more of a niche walking tour company (neighborhood/topic specific, rather than just general London info), so I hope to do more walking tours with them.

The rest of my week I’m planning to relax as I have a busy weekend ahead. This weekend I’m heading back to Cheltenham because Mark and I are attending the wedding of one of his friends. Then, on Tuesday Marianna and her boyfriend Aaron are coming to stay with me. I’m excited to have some familiar faces around!

Till next time!

As crazy as it sounds, it doesn’t seem like its only been two months in London – I feel like I’ve been here for much longer! In the two months that I’ve been here I’ve explored quite a few places already, so that’s probably made it seems like its longer than its been. I’ve also gotten into the groove of things and feel like I’m progressing with the city.

One thing that’s taken some getting used to here is the weather. Winter here was about the same temperature as DC, but now it’s almost May and the weather is the same as it was in February. I’d say it’s typically about 45-50 degrees (Fahrenheit), and there’s not much variation from that.

Over the weekend my friend Jing and I took the train down to Eastbourne (a city on the English Channel) and hiked uphill to a chalk cliff called Beachy Head. It was a really pretty hike and area. Once at the top, you could see the cliff, the brightly colored water, and view of Eastbourne in the distance.

This upcoming week I’ll start studying for my LAST final exam of grad school EVER which is next Saturday, the 7th. I already have in mind to go get a celebratory drink after I finish!

Now that I’ll have so much free time from grad school and not having to do homework, I’m not sure what I’m going to do with myself. I definitely want to get back into a good workout routine, so that’s a priority. I also have seen a few Meetups for evening walks in different London neighborhoods, so that could be a good way to explore more of the city as well. And, in typical nerd fashion, I’m excited to have more time to read books, rather than textbooks.