Weekend Highlights

What a weekend! It was a busy couple of days, full of unplanned outings. On Saturday we went to the Borough Market, an open-air market selling all kinds of great food. Then we saw the Tower Bridge and St. Paul's Cathedral. Today a group of us went back to St. Paul's for a church service, which was beautiful. After church we went to the Notting Hill Carnival. The Notting Hill district of London has historically been a settling place for Caribbean immigrants, so the carnival there is a celebration of Anglo-Caribbean culture. There was a huge parade that had a lot of steel-drum bands and lots of dancing. The entire thing felt like a great big block party, and it was a fantastic way to spend the afternoon.

The Borough Market

The Tower Bridge

St. Paul's Cathedral

Notting Hill Carnival

Tomorrow it's on to Birmingham!

Photos

Some highlights so far:

Trafalgar Square


Parliament and Big Ben


British Museum

After a great "field trip" to the British Museum yesterday, we went to see Tom Stoppard's Arcadia. It was absolutely wonderful. The acting was great and the play itself was thought-provoking and hilarious. I know this is only the beginning, but I'm still classifying Arcadia as a highlight.

We have the weekend free, but I'm planning to see the National Gallery, the Tate Modern Art Museum, and possibly Buckingham Palace, which is currently open for viewing. On Monday we move on to Birmingham for four days before returning to London for another ten days.

London

We've arrived in London! We're staying at a dorm at the London School of Economics, and having class in one of their buildings in the mornings. We had our first full day yesterday. Class was mainly just orientation. Once class was over, my friend Joy and I headed out to see some of the city. We walked to Trafalgar Square, over the Thames, and down to the Parliament building, Big Ben, and Westminster Abby. It was quite a walk. I'll post some photos of our outing sometime in the near future.

Today we started out our day with class and a brutal quiz, but the day should be getting considerably better. This afternoon we're going to the British Museum, and tonight we're going to see a production of Tom Stoppard's play "Arcadia". I'm especially excited about "Arcadia", because Stoppard is my favorite writer!

More to come very soon!

And so it begins!

Exactly one week from today, I'll be flying to London to begin my Europe semester adventures, along with 40 other Westmont students and three professors. I'll try to update this blog as often as possible with photos and stories of my escapades abroad. I'd also love to stay updated on life at home, so please feel free to send me newsy emails (klahr@westmont.edu), blog comments, and Facebook messages.

I'm looking forward to posting something exciting from London sometime next week!