Westminster Abbey and the London Eye

posted by: Katie

Recently I did the two biggest things in London, that you are supposed to do while here- Westminster Abbey and the London Eye.

Westminster Abbey is huge! It was built over a thousand years ago. There's so much to see, granted they are all tombs, but it was so interesting. I was able to see where Queen Elizabeth the I was buried, in the early 1600's, nd her sister,Queen Mary in the mid 1500's. And so many kings and queens are there! I also saw things like the coronation chair, where the new monarch is coronated. There was also a room that used to be for the monks that lived there, where the room had the original tiles from the 1200's. It was pretty amazing to see what they can do there. There was so much history, the States don't have that at all!

Then we went to the London Eye, which is the largest ferris wheel in the world. It takes half an hour to go around, and you can see most of London from the top. Im terrified of heights, but I faced my fears for this trip. I could see everything that I went inside, the Tower, Parliament, the Thames, and Westminster. It was beautiful.

I feel like I have done so much in England in the short 4 months I have been here! So I am going to France for Easter, and I can't wait. I have 3 more weeks here though, so I am going to try to make the best of it!

Katie

posted by: Katie

This weekend was a busy one, and so much fun! Friday night was my friend Emily's 20th birthday, and a whole mess of us went to Covent Garden, where all the cool restaurants and pubs are. It's such a nice place to go on a Friday and Saturday night, and so busy with people! We went to a pub called Walkabout, and it was a blast! There was a live band that played lots of cool music, I think they were Irish, and played American music! It's so crazy to think of how far America can go in the entertainment industry.

The next day my friends and I made a trip to the Tate Britain Museum. They have lots of British paintings, not many before 1700's though, because of the Great Fire of London that destroyed most of them, except a few about the Tudor times in the 1500's. But there were a lot of paintings that displayed British countryside and life after the 1700's. There was an exhibit that we went to go see, called the Gothic exhibit, and it's focus was about the painting called the Nightmare. It was so interesting to see, because I learned all about it in my freshman art history class! I saw a few of the paintings we would discuss in class, and it was so cool to see them up close.


Sunday was spent going to Putney, where the Oxford-Cambridge boat race was. It started over 150 years ago, and is a huge tradition in London, on the River Thames, and starts at the Putney Bridge. The students of Oxford and Cambridge (England's 2 Ivy League schools sort of) train all year for this race, which is only 17 minutes, and goes by so fast! There were 12,000 people there at the start of the river race, and it was like a huge party! People tailgated since the early morning for good spots! There were so many booths for food and drinks. The day was beautiful for the
race though, and the rain let up and the sun shone just an hour before the race began. It was soo cool to see a tradition in London, and Oxford won! (I wanted Oxford to win, because I was there a few times and bought a t-shirt...)

I can't wait for Easter to come, my little sister is coming to visit and we are going to France for 4 days. I'm so excited!

Katie

Three weeks left until classes end.

posted by:Esi

Hey Everyone!

Officially 3 weeks left until classes end! I can't wait! Preparations for the summer are in affect. The Orientation Staff had their first meeting/retreat this past weekend. It was definitely a good time. We did a lot of team building exercises, dichotomies and overall talked about our jobs. The staff is really awesome so far and I can't wait to see how we'll all work together. I'm definitely pumped for this summer. Soon we'll have our photo shoot for the website and start our duties as O*Staff 2006.
With the year winding down, people are preparing for next year. RA's just received their room assignments for next year and the lottery is on Monday. My friends and got approved to go to the lottery and we're hoping to get an apartment next year in the New Building. We're keeping our fingers crossed.

They also had elections for student government, finance board, resident hall and commuter associations and class positions. It was fun seeing everyone's flyers and chalkings all over campus. People really go all out when it comes to elections
University Day is today; Happy Birthday to Rider. There is going to be all sorts of events and fun things to do on that day. Personally, I think Rider should have no classes on University Day. You know, to celebrate! Ha ha. A girl can dream can't she?

Hope everyone has a great week!

Esi.