Off to Neverland with Peter and Back to London with the Famous Redheaded Twins

It was a great week here in London!

On Monday and Tuesday, I worked on my first video production class project.  After filming over the weekend, I edited and completed the video and have attached the link to watch it on YouTube below... Discover London.

Allyson and I also spent Tuesday afternoon exploring Hyde Park, where we found Peter Pan! It is always so lovely to walk through the park! None of the dogs here are kept on leashes (or leads as they call them)... they are left to roam free and enjoy themselves in the park too! It is so fun to see them all running after squirrels and it also makes me miss Cruiser!!!

We also found this monument for Queen Caroline! =)

Italian Fountains in Hyde Park 

I had a great day on Wednesday!  After Art and Architecture class all morning, I went to the National Gallery (at Trafalgar Square) with my History of London class, which was fantastic!  It was amazing to see all of the important European paintings displayed there.  I also really enjoy the professor who gave the tour, as she is also a professional tour guide aside from teaching, so that added to the experience as well!

After that we walked a bit more on our tour, learning about the famous British artists who lived in the surrounding areas.  We finished in Covent Garden! (I have visited this market before and had so much fun exploring it for a second time!!)

I also found a Disney store!!! London AND Disney.... life is so good!! =) 

I finished off the night with a video conference about Homecoming Committee back at GCC!  It was fun to see Megan, Emily, and Madeline!  I am also really looking forward to seeing Madeline in a few weeks in Paris!!

Today was rainy and cold... but after class, I went to 23 Egerton Terrace... the filming location for the London house in The Parent Trap!!  You could practically smell the "peppermint and pipe tobacco" from outside the place where Annie, Elizabeth, and Grandfather lived!!  

The adventure continues... I am looking forward to heading out early tomorrow morning for a weekend visit to Belgium!! 

Until next time! =) 

A Magical Weekend!

It was a magical weekend here in London!

I spent Friday working on recording my first movie for video production class.  With stops at Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, the London Eye, Primrose Hill (in Regents' Park), and lastly Camden Market.... it was a full day!  It was also incredible to see all of the places you can visit in just one day in London! 

On Saturday, Allyson and I went on a day trip with the International Friends Touring Company.  The morning began with a bus ride that took us about an hour out of London to the Warner Brothers' Harry Potter Studio Tour!!!  It was so cool to explore EVERYTHING Harry Potter throughout the studios!!  There were props, costumes, hair and makeup sketches, sets, and really anything related to any of the Harry Potter movies.  After watching the last 5 Harry Potter films this week, it was such a cool experience to see every part of each film in real life!!!!  My favorite part was seeing the model Hogwarts Castle in the snow as a final surprise of the Harry Potter Experience!! And of course, I treated myself to a "butterbeer" and chocolate frog too! =) 

After a few hours with Harry Potter, we traveled on for another hour bus ride to Oxford!  We enjoyed a guided walking tour of the city and university and then had some free time here as well!  It was fun to be in this historical city for the second time after visiting with my intercession trip with GCC last year!  While it was a beautiful evening out, it was also very cold, so we were happy to get back on the bus and head home!  

Allyson and I finished off the night with KFC for dinner!  I never would have guessed, but KFC is the biggest thing over here... there are advertisements everywhere!!  So anyways, we finally gave in and decided to have some KFC on Saturday...and we discovered that "Crushems" despite what we interpreted from pictures, is not ice cream!

On Sunday afternoon I went to the Muffin Man tea shop again for lunch, where I enjoyed a hot chocolate and sandwich.  Aside from that I spent the day doing homework and looking at future travels and trips!

This evening Meg, Carla, Allyson, and I went to De Mario's for dinner!  This was Princess Diana's favorite place to go for pizza... and it was fantastic!!!  I definitely think I will add this to the list of places to come back to when the fam comes to visit!