Living on Queen's Gate Terrace in Central Kensington does have it's perks. Thus far we have discovered that we live near: William Kate and George, David Beckham and Co, The Queen (occasionally), Adele, the two richest men in the UK, many foreign ambassadors along with many others. We are direct neighbors to the French Ambassador, hence the name of our "house", Ambassador House.
The street is magnificently beautiful. The buildings are covered in white stucco, architecture detailed, and every door is different. On some windows there are flower baskets and herb gardens. In front of mostly every door there are old school iron boot scrapers. Although I doubt they are ever used now since there is a lack of mud in this concrete covered city, they do add a nice vista to the properties.
Our bedroom is in the basement of our building, through a few hallways, away from the rest of the people. The perk of being away is the closeness to the laundry facilities, the quietness, and the presence of our own bathroom. The bathroom is wonderful. It has a waterfall shower head, along with a detachable one and it has the strongest water pressure I have ever experienced. I placed a small rubber ducky in our shower to keep us company and bring some color into the white room. His name is Richard the Yellow.
We went about today on Kensington High Street to make a few purchases. We bought small Nokia prepay phones from Vodaphone, a hand towel to share, a small tea kettle, a bathroom mat, a make up mirror, some personal effects, and some snacks since we are all starved 24/7 except around 10 and 6 when breakfast and dinner is served.
The Dining Hall food has improved (today) during dinner. Dinner was pork chops, spinach and squash rusoto with peas, corn, and your choice of breads. There is always a salad bar, soup, ice cream, and plenty of drinks. Although along with the drinks comes slightly warm British milk. I bought a small carton of room temperature British milk to put in my tea (Tetleys) along with some mild honey. I need to purchase a cup, and perhaps a bowl to make it through my stay. I was going to boil some water in our new kettle to make some ramen soup (40 pence each) but I did not have a bowl to put the noddles in.
We had a bus tour and an orientation meeting today. On the tour and through the meeting we were EXTENSIVELY warned to NEVER get in an unregistered cab, as that is "just a strangers car" and you will end up getting "hurt, or worse". I praise God that I was not harmed in the "unregistered cab" and that I made it safely to my house. I will be more aware next time.
During the tour, and the meeting, at least 3 people commented on the band One Direction and how they are unwanted, and unloved in the UK. People will point the "one" direction they should go: Out of this country. They are also known as the "One Wrong Direction". The poor boys. At any rate, the meeting went well, we got a lot of useful information like not to get in an unregistered cab...
During the tour Emily (my roommate) and I made a list on my iPhone notepad of places we wanted to go and things we wanted to do (that we saw on the tour). The list is HUGE. Some of the attractions will be free, others will not, others will be free minus the cost of beer... (pub crawls). It is going to be a fantastic semester here in London and I cannot wait to share with you all the adventures that happen to us while we are here in registered cabs.
The List:
Victoria And Albert Museum (might happen tomorrow, if I get to bed that is)
Day at Harrods
Tea at Buckingham Palace Gardens
Westminster Abby Service
Temple Church Tour
Daniel Radcliff Show
Museum of London
Pub Crawls (Including but not limited to: The Globe Pub, Sherlock Holmes Pub, Leaky Cauldron Pub, and The Old King's Head Pub)
Gamble ( Ten Pound Limit) at a Casino
Go to China Town
Soho Gay Bars
Night Clubs and take the "Night Bus" home
Burlington Arcade Visit
See where Will and Kate live
Rent a Bike and Ride in Hyde Park
Tate Modern at Night
Organic Market
The Chocolate Factory Dinner Theatre
Murder History Wax Museum
Football Game! (Probably Chelsea)
Visit the Winter Wonderland Area in November
That is JUST a few things we want to do in London itself... not to mention other parts of the country, and Europe. We will see just how far we can stretch a college student budget.
PS: I found out what Yoda was advertising in the airport: Vodaphone (Yoda, Voda, get it?) Giggle.
Our bedroom is in the basement of our building, through a few hallways, away from the rest of the people. The perk of being away is the closeness to the laundry facilities, the quietness, and the presence of our own bathroom. The bathroom is wonderful. It has a waterfall shower head, along with a detachable one and it has the strongest water pressure I have ever experienced. I placed a small rubber ducky in our shower to keep us company and bring some color into the white room. His name is Richard the Yellow.
We went about today on Kensington High Street to make a few purchases. We bought small Nokia prepay phones from Vodaphone, a hand towel to share, a small tea kettle, a bathroom mat, a make up mirror, some personal effects, and some snacks since we are all starved 24/7 except around 10 and 6 when breakfast and dinner is served.
The Dining Hall food has improved (today) during dinner. Dinner was pork chops, spinach and squash rusoto with peas, corn, and your choice of breads. There is always a salad bar, soup, ice cream, and plenty of drinks. Although along with the drinks comes slightly warm British milk. I bought a small carton of room temperature British milk to put in my tea (Tetleys) along with some mild honey. I need to purchase a cup, and perhaps a bowl to make it through my stay. I was going to boil some water in our new kettle to make some ramen soup (40 pence each) but I did not have a bowl to put the noddles in.
We had a bus tour and an orientation meeting today. On the tour and through the meeting we were EXTENSIVELY warned to NEVER get in an unregistered cab, as that is "just a strangers car" and you will end up getting "hurt, or worse". I praise God that I was not harmed in the "unregistered cab" and that I made it safely to my house. I will be more aware next time.
During the tour, and the meeting, at least 3 people commented on the band One Direction and how they are unwanted, and unloved in the UK. People will point the "one" direction they should go: Out of this country. They are also known as the "One Wrong Direction". The poor boys. At any rate, the meeting went well, we got a lot of useful information like not to get in an unregistered cab...
During the tour Emily (my roommate) and I made a list on my iPhone notepad of places we wanted to go and things we wanted to do (that we saw on the tour). The list is HUGE. Some of the attractions will be free, others will not, others will be free minus the cost of beer... (pub crawls). It is going to be a fantastic semester here in London and I cannot wait to share with you all the adventures that happen to us while we are here in registered cabs.
The List:
Victoria And Albert Museum (might happen tomorrow, if I get to bed that is)
Day at Harrods
Tea at Buckingham Palace Gardens
Westminster Abby Service
Temple Church Tour
Daniel Radcliff Show
Museum of London
Pub Crawls (Including but not limited to: The Globe Pub, Sherlock Holmes Pub, Leaky Cauldron Pub, and The Old King's Head Pub)
Gamble ( Ten Pound Limit) at a Casino
Go to China Town
Soho Gay BarsNight Clubs and take the "Night Bus" home
Burlington Arcade Visit
See where Will and Kate live
Rent a Bike and Ride in Hyde Park
Tate Modern at Night
Organic Market
The Chocolate Factory Dinner Theatre
Murder History Wax Museum
Football Game! (Probably Chelsea)
Visit the Winter Wonderland Area in November
That is JUST a few things we want to do in London itself... not to mention other parts of the country, and Europe. We will see just how far we can stretch a college student budget.
PS: I found out what Yoda was advertising in the airport: Vodaphone (Yoda, Voda, get it?) Giggle.
Don't forget the George Inn!
ReplyDeleteAnd the HMS Victory!! And the Winston Churchill Museum, and, and...
Be careful though since you used up one of your nine lives��